Getting things done!

I'm so proud of me....I'm growing up and becoming responsible and getting all sorts of things accomplished.

Not really; I haven't blogged since Friday which sucks although I have several ideas marinating upstairs.

I haven't posted any outfit pics since Monday of last week even though Roomie K has her super awesome camera now. I've taken the pics, I just haven't followed through.

I haven't started the King canon choosing instead to read trash.

I haven't started viewing the AFI list choosing instead to watch "Are Aliens Real" or something on the History channel. It was fascinating and preposterous all at the same time.

I did make a freaking awesome bowl the other day- but that's not on the list.

I did have a fabulous, spontaneous weekend- but that's not on the list.

I did finish two - count them two! - novels this weekend - and that IS on the list. So yay....

I finally finished Martin's Feast of Crows Sunday. I woke up around 6:30 and read all day. I finally hit that point where I was so captivated by the novel that I couldn't drag myself away. Having to take a break and start getting ready to go to graduation was torture...but graduation was fun... Anyways, I'm not yet ready to talk about the ending of that novel just yet, but I DO want to talk about Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin.

Ya'll know I can't see a movie without reading the novel first, so I started SB last night around 8 and finished it around 11 leaving lots of other work woefully ignored and unattended in the corner. It felt great.

However, I did not feel so great when I finally put that little gem aside. I was expecting a light summer read where the slightly unattractive, Sex and the City wannabe, small town girl who moved to the big city learns something about her self and finds love in about 300 pages normal storyline. That is NOT what I got at all.

For starters, there's not a likeable character in the whole damn novel. And I want a character I can support if I'm reading summer trash. It's okay for Finny and Gene to be jerks because that's literature...there's a difference. I think from now on I'll call this the Bella Swan effect....oh how she grates. 

Anyways, the protagonist is a horrible friend, horrible. And granted her BF is no nice lady but the protag just uses her friend's bad behavior as justification for her own. There's a lot of double dealing and several people cheat on several other people throughout the course of the novel. Honestly, it turned my stomach just a little. I'm all for an anti-hero; I actually really like that particular story arc but this woman's only defense for sleeping with her BF's fiance and eventually driving the two of them apart about a week before their wedding is something along the lines of well, she was mean to me when we were small. And she lies a lot. WTH?

I don't think there is any justification for cheating for either party no matter the circumstances. And I resent that the novel tries its hardest to make it seem like the protag was justified, that because she was a slightly unattractive, Sex and the City wannabe, small town girl who moved to the big city wanting to learn something about her self and find love that it's ok to do whatever it takes to get whatever she wants. It really paints women in a bad light. She's trying to be an uber successful business woman but at her core she won't be (and isn't) truly happy until she has the perfect man. It doesn't matter that he's with someone else. And whines about being the giver in her relationship with her BF as she takes, takes, takes.

At the end of the novel, only she is happy, and she seems ok with that. All of her friends are upset and hurting, trying to put pieces back together again, but she's with a guy who is clearly thinking about the fiance he left instead of her. And...she's happy. I just wanted to yell at her that yeah, he's a reeeeaaaalll keeper...but I think, if she were real, she'd be too selfish to honestly care...

Oh well, 50 more to go and they can't all be as bad as this one, right? I'll probably never read another Emily Giffin again. Sorry lady, you won't be getting my 8 bucks ever.... :P That'll show her. 

Learned helplessness just festered.

Love everything about that sentence while hating everything at the same time. 3.5 days left people.

No, you may not complete work that was assigned in February. Because the last day for work to be turned in was yesterday.

All of my kindness and understanding ran out at 3:00 yesterday. Sorries! Funsies! Smilesies!

These get shorter and shorter as the days get longer..

(The title has nothing to do with this post. Choosing a title for these always causes me a little stress. A good title is hook, and I never know what to say. Not that good at hooking, I guess...which, in retrospect, is probably a very, very good thing....ha. On to the real stuff. (As I typed that last part, I pictured Brave Sir Robin...good times.))

Literature or Education?

Ahh…grad school. You’re already stressing me out.

My brain says education. That’s practical, immediately applicable, not so damn Mona Lisa Smile.

My heart says you have Julia Roberts-like teeth Sarah! Embrace it! Wear tiny pea coats and French berets while reading Faulkner! It’ll be so. much. fun.

And there’s the rub. It would be fun. So much fun. And I’m about 60-40 literature. A Masters is a Masters, after all. Right?

Maybe I should just choose whichever mascot appeals to me the most? Which school’s colors look best on me? Online or in person (I HATE online….even thought I’m good at it, right Roomie K?)  I got the larnin’ bug last night and I’m ready to start this now! I’m my most comfortable self in the classroom – whether I’m learning or teaching. I need to get back into the groove now that real school is winding down.

This definitely needs more thought. Maybe a good old pro/con list…

A quick list

• A really quick list
• The weather is ridiculous here. Sideways rain while the sun was shining. Weirder and weirder.
• No pictures again. I officially suck. I forgot my camera at the school again....gah!!! Because...
• I was distracted by the stuco meeting. It went really well. Our president is pretty awesome. All of the candidates were strong; she just seems to really have a passion for this government thing. And she brought some awesome ideas to the table.
• Which reminds me...bringing something to the table is the best way to get what you want. I think that people should just fall into line with my ideas because they're awesome but maybe I should start trying a little honey? And I have a lot of new ideas....
• Second best line of the day: Who did Romeo kill? Well, it wasn't himself...because you can't kill yourself...that would be suicide and....ooooohhhhh......
• Best best line of the day: Yeah! And Emily Dickinson didn't even graduate college! And people think she's so awesome. I got a diploma! Ha!
• I'll do better tomorrow!

Why don't you go cry about it elsewhere?

Man, I have no tolerance for tears...of any sort. My honest first reaction when someone starts crying is to roll my eyes and walk away...I can't handle it. I'm not really sure why... but tears definitely set me off. I do have a heart and I honestly care about and for people - I just hate a crier. And a Cryer...but that's a different story...and only if he's old...Everyone loves Duckie..

So to my surprise in 5th period I found myself hugging a child who was crying-CRYING- because her EOC score was advanced. We have worked so hard this year on grammar and sentence structure and all of that hard work paid off in spades. She rocked that test so freaking hard...actually they all did. I'm so very proud of them. But I'm so proud of her...I really feel like I did something commendable with her. I TAUGHT her stuff and she LEARNED it. That's huge. Teaching is very often about delayed gratification. We sow our little lessons about EVERYTHING like little seeds and who knows when those seeds will begin to germinate and then bloom? Sometimes we may never know if anything actually took hold. I mean some days I feel like I'm just throwing ideas packed in double sided tape at the kids praying that something will stick to someone. But I saw this girl's blooming moment. And it was neat, people. It was so neat.

Neat enough that I told a friend my english class was brought to the students by the letters B and A...because I am one bad ass teacher. Watch tomorrow be awful.

Started my carrot idea from yesterday today. It worked so so well!! And because of that carrot idea my camera is at school so I'll have to post outfit photos tomorrow.

**I'm about halfway done with Feast of Crows. I'm counting it as one of my nonKing nonAFI novels. I'm going to be so sad when it is over. Still no 'EEEEEEE' moment for Martin."

Disciplined or Motivated?

This has been a topic of much discussion today both before and after drinks so you know it's been thoroughly covered. The question is: is there such a thing as discipline or are we only motivated? I think people only respond to motivation, and, at its core, discipline is just a fancy first layer of motivation.

For example, why do I run? It's for sure not because I'm disciplined. I run because I want to be a size 8 and still be able to eat bon bons. Motivation. Not discipline.

Why am I taking a break from grading to write this blog post? It's for sure not because I have anything important to say or because I'm forcing myself to do so. It's because I made a public (sort of) goal of blogging every day after my birthday and I'm too damn proud to not live up to that. Motivation. Not discipline.

Why the hell am I grading papers at 9:41 instead of watching Make It or Break It (because I'm a grown-up)? Is it because I'm disciplined and that's what disciplined teachers do? Umm...hell no. It's because I promised the kiddies these would be graded and in their hands by tomorrow and that promise is motivating me to get this crap done. Motivation. Not discipline.

I mean who can deny kiddies who decorate for my birthday....three days late? And by decorate I mean vomit tinsel and glitter everywhere.

Is there really no such thing as discipline? I'm not disciplined at all...but I am motivated. There is a world of difference between the two.

Ok, this subject came up today as we were discussing carrots for honors students as they run the gamut of state testing. What could their motivator be? I'm so proud of us as a department because I really think we came up with a great idea to motivate them to do well for FOUR years on these mandatory tests. I'm freaking stoked about it.

I'm also freaking stoked that my EOC scores came back in and that they are fairly decent. More on those tomorrow after I get a look at the hard numbers. YAY!!

So here's today's outfit:

I didn't want to put it on again because I'm all sweaty from running. Gross, right?? So it's all placed on the bed and what not. Hippie chic.

A rose by any other name...

Would still be playing like a beast man. Seriously, Derrick Rose is ridiculous and ridiculously fun to watch.

Just blogging to fill in a quota today. No deep thoughts - it's been fairly busy. Every single piece of paper and every single assignment has been graded and entered online. Progress reports are printed; lessons for the WEEK, the WEEK people, are planned. Got the list ready for tomorrow afternoon's meeting. I ran my five miles and visited, briefly, with my favorite Foo Fighter concert attendee. Favorite because he brought me a concert tee as a late bday present. Not really, he's awesome. But yeah, that's it. Fairly boring although insanely productive day...

Roomie K with my Foo Fighter tee...she's shy. The shirt is badass.

"Help me! I'm poor."

Maybe the best birthday ever.... So I know I didn't post yesterday, but since yesterday was my bday, it was all about only doing the things that I absolutely wanted to do. And I just couldn't unjumble my thoughts enough to get them typed out coherently.

It's been a SHAmazing week and in a quick run-down:

Roomie K got me this t- shirt.

Roomie M got me tickets to Game 4 of the Grizz/OKC series- EPIC Game 4. So that was awesome- epically awesome.

Saw Bon Jovi

 He rocked this face. Count it. Million and one.

Wore this outfit to the concert. Loved it! Love everything about this picture actually- from how messy my room is to my shoes to being 24 and still jumping with excitement.

Ate dinner with the fams on my birthday. Started my 365 clothing challenge. It's gonna suck, but here's outfit numero uno:

And attended Cousin C's wedding today before watching my new second favorite movie: Bridesmaids!!!  "Helen knows the owner...." The wedding wasn't that bad...she was pretty and they seemed happy. Good for them.

Anyways, here's day 2:

Not real pleased with this picture but we weren't going to take another.

Gonna get some serious reading done tomorrow. It hit me this morning how much I have on my plate for this year...I honestly can't freaking wait. Aaaaaand I think this is good enough for tonight. It's late, folks. Bedtime:)

Thus, with a kiss,

I die..

God, how I love Romeo and Juliet. Two of my classes are watching the 1999 version. And at the risk of being a little racist, I love watching this movie with my ghetto freshmen. They really get into the movie...I mean, they REALLY get into it. As Romeo is drinking from his poison flask, they start mumbling. As Juliet begins waking up, they begin to gasp. As she looks over to him and smiles as he swallows, they start yelling.

"Slap that man!" "Don't drink that!" "She's awake; look at her!!" "Ohmygodwhyisn'tshesayinganything?StopsmilingandSTOPhim!"

I love it. Such excitement for something they never thought they would've liked. After the movie is over, they're all geared up to start talking about the tragedy of it all. One little girl was all misted up. "It was just so pretty and so senseless." Which is a perfect lead in to the Blame Game. I also love Blame Game day. Their reasonings and logic just amazes sometimes in their astuteness.

Now, my other two classes are creating mash-ups. One group is placing Zaroff from The Most Dangerous Game in a high school setting with Melinda from Speak. Craziness shall ensue, I'm sure.

On to the goals:
These are the last two goals I have to talk about before my birthday.

Size 8: No woman is ever truly happy with her appearance and I, I am a woman.  One of my volleyball players called me 'thick' last night and as I drowned my sorrows in chicken casserole (two helpings...) I vowed that I WILL BE SKINNY! I think my goal of running in a half marathon will be a great help in that. I was running 8 miles a day and I was teeny tiny...I also got to eat whole pizzas by myself. There's a really fat girl slowly starving inside of me... I have to get on the ball though...no more late night Sonic runs with the roomies. I'll miss you dumb, dumb sonic teller. Not much though as you are very, very dumb.

Bon Jovi tomorrow night!!

Finally!

The day has come! The EOC has passed.  I could feel all of my stress and tension just easing out of me - maybe easing is too nice of a word... flowing? streaming? gushing? getting the hell away from me?- as I began to proctor the test today. Everything was done. We could prepare no more. I just hope they did ok. Not much we can do about it now.

The kids say they did fine, they aced it, it was ease-pease. We'll see. I mean this one and gone test has very, very little effect on me, right? Wrong...that's another issue for another day.

My fifth period class is watching Lurhman's Romeo + Juliet...gah, I love this movie. So so much.

On to the 25 stuff:

Learn to juggle. - umm, who doesn't want to be able to do this? I can entertain small children at parties! hahaha! Like I'd be at a party with small children. Please....

Really want to learn how to do the egg-spatula trick. - this is another trick I just want to be able to do like the guys at  hibachi. I'll just push good ole 'Jake' out of the way and spatula my way through that little dinner and a show.

Audition for a play. - all of this drama and 'personality' (that's a nice euphemism) just BELONG on stage. Home grown theatre here I come!! Double props if I make it in a musical.

Apply for a reality TV show. - I think I might change this one...Being on TV and applying to a reality show are pretty similar goals. Are they different enough, though, to merit separate spots?

Two days until Bon Jovi!! I'll look to like if looking liking move...and it will. The man's a hottie!

A list

I really like lists. I like crossing things off of lists. I like adding things I've already completed to lists so I can cross them off and feel accomplished. It feels awesome. So, today, I'm going to make a real quick list.

This week has been/will be ridic. I can't wait.

Monday: Review and a clean car!!
Tuesday: EOC - ugh, I just want it to be over with...seriously. I want the kiddies to bubble wisely and well, and I don't want to think about this for another year. Also, volleyball!!
Wednesday: I wanna grill out and then go run.
Thursday: BON JOVI! and vball conditioning in the sand. Fun times.
Friday: 25!!

So there's the week. Aaaand the last few items to check off of my to do list:

Grown up furniture.

I like the furniture I have now- it;s ok; but I really want the super expensive, really pretty, grown up furniture I saw at Ashley's. So I'm slaving away to pay it off.

3rd tattoo.

I want a third tattoo. I think I want it on my wrist and I want it to have something to do with the idea of turning arrows into blossoms. It's a really pretty idea, and one that I really need to work on.

Orpheum season tickets.

Uhh...Mamma Mia is coming back! Enough said. Season tix for the last two years has spoiled me, and I like the feeling of 'culture.' LOL

Grown up set of luggage for all my traveling.

Because this is no longer cutting it. I'm almost 25 ya'll. Time to grow up just a bit. 

Brick Walls

Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people.


Man, I love that quote. Someone linked me to this little goodie today. It's amazing. I can't wait to share it with the kiddies. It's pretty long so you might want to carve out some time. I definitely strongly suggest that you make some time for this.

I read my Jules Verne as a girl

Honestly, I did. I think it was reading Around the World in 80 Days that has prompted two of my 25 goals. I want to travel overseas sometime this year, and I want to ride in a hot air balloon. The ridiculous drama that novel created for itself can just stay away, though. I want no part of you!

I guess I'm kind of needy. I want this, i want that, I want it all and I want it right now.

I do want to travel. I think I'llgo somewhere awesome over Christmas break. Maybe use lastminute.com and see where I can go for however much money I have. That would be such a neat experience. Maybe this student council stuff could fund my trip. That's a good way of looking at that particular endeavor. I don't really want to plan plan anything. Just wake up and go....

I also want to ride in a hot air ballon because, well, why the hell not? Foley has a annual hot air balloon fair. I could combine a trip to one of my fav places and cross off one of my goals all at the same time. That's a win win situation to me.

Speaking of crossing things off of lists, I have been using the zenhabits list idea for a couple of days now. It has kept me focused...well, more so than usual. Some items I just dread doing...dishes, anyone?

Speaking of being focused, the Grizz had better bring it tonight. I'm not ready for this Cinderella season to be over just yet. Roomie k had better find her lucky shirt. Game time isn't until 8 or so, so you can even wash it this time. Roomie m had better still be on the bandwagon for chicken enchiladas tonight.....I've been looking forward to therm all week long.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I Wanna Be

on TV!!

No seriously! I really do. I have my audition tape all ready to go. Here I come How I Met Your Mother. I will gladly play one of Barney's bimbos or Ted's one-episoder girlfriends. I'm funny, I'm pretty, I can do this.

I really don't have an audition tape all ready to go. I honestly don't know what I would say or do in it, and I don't think this little goodie I made for Roomie K would get me any jobs....well, maybe as an extra on a remake of The Exorcist.

But really, I do think I want to audition for a reality TV show. I even know which one: Survivor!! I think I would be AMAZING at this show if I could manage to keep my very large, opinionated mouth closed at the appropriate times. I'm athletic and fairly intelligent so I think I could handle the physical and mental challenges. I just get a little crabby when I don't get fed- (Olga must be FFFFFEEEEDDDD). That might play into my favor though... I mean, if I leak the video from up there to the Internet so my opponents can see it...they might not want to mess with me. I might...growl... at them. :)

 Besides, Probst and I... we should meet. I love the dude. So, I'm going to fill out the paper work for Survivor this summer and just see what happens. Even if I go and get tossed the first day, it'd still be pretty stinkin' neat.

On a completely different note, Mike Conley is playing like a beast man tonight. Grizz up by six. Heart! Grit! Grind!

Puttin' me to shame

Or

I wish I wrote this well...with such clarity of thought and precision of language. I'm jealous.

I also think this is a great idea. I'm a HUUUUUGE procrastinator. I often choose having fun (ahem, 6 hours Grizzlies game on a school night) over being productive and getting work done (grading the massive stack of papers on my desk).

I think I will try this this weekend and see what happens.

Because my desk...well, it looks like this:

Heart, Grit, Grind

Heartbreaker in 3..it still hurts. It really, really hurts. Bad, guys. It hurts bad.

So I know today I’m supposed to wax eloquent about my desire to travel overseas and see new things, have new experiences, fall in love with some Venezuelan man who calls me mamacita. Or something like that. (I'm looking at you Greivis Vasquez.) But I can’t. Not after last night. No sir.

I attended the Grizz/OKC Game Four last night. Suffice it to say, I’m exhausted. We didn’t get home until three, and I’m hyped on basketball. I’m OJ Mayo juiced up. No lie.

THREE overtimes. Lots of heart, grit and grind. It was an amazing game. We played hard even as we sqaundered an 18 point lead. There’s not much you can do against Durant when he’s on his game. I wonder what he sold to the Devil in order to shoot the way he does. The man makes impossible shots consistently. There’s not much you can do against Durant and Westbrook when they’re both playing well. Westbrook was our MVP during the third game. Not so much last night. Sad days all around. Tough loss. We’ll get them Wednesday.

All of that brings me to my goal for next year. I want to attend a professional game in the following sports: football, soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, volleyball. Why not? 

I don’t really care who I see when I go to the football game; I just enjoy the atmosphere. Same thing with soccer. Never been; heard it’s a blast....and soccer fans are ca-razzzy..

I’m def gonna see the Grizz- probably more than once. And I want a chance to see my favorite Canadian work his magic on the court - so seeing Steve Nash is in. For baseball, I’m probably going to have to suck up a visit to Chicago with my sister. She’s a glutton for punishment, and she’s been to enough Braves and Cards games to merit one trip to Wrigley. Probably gonna just see the Preds in Nashville. Always a fun night. And idk how I’m going to find a pro volleyball game or who I should see but it does sound fun. Gives me a little street cred with my players too, right? 

So yes. I’m going to paint my face, bust out my foam finger, proudly sport the favorite colors of my favorite sports team and cheer them on as they beat their opponents...soundly. :) 

You can...

read my post...

I really wanted to title this TVAAS-topic post after a timely and oft-repeated phrase of mine...but I refrained. (alliteration)  It took a lot of effort, and, now, I’m tired. Exhausted. Wiped out. My feet are barking like dogs at me. (simile) 

Maybe it was the inhuman amount of energy it took to make my fingers type what I wanted them to type and not what they wanted to type. (hyperbole, personification)

Can you tell I have EOC stuff on the brain? We’ve been reviewing like little lost monkeys all week long. We have another week to go. I hate EOC. I hate the stress it puts on me and the students. I hate how mindnumbingly awful it is. I hate that it puts me in a foul mood. I hate that I can’t fake happiness about this damn test. I hate that individuals I don’t know grade me on one test given on one day of one year instead of what I do every single day. It’s insane, but it’s the system. And I’m just a little cog lost in the belly of the whale. There may be a Matrix allusion in here somewhere...idk, I’m tired. And repetitive apparently.

But there’s no use whining about the system. Because you can ask any of the chickies in my pen/They'll tell you I'm the biggest Mutha. . . .Hen/ I love them all and all of them love me - because the system works; the system called GRIND YOU INTO THE GROUND AND THEN TEST TEST TEST!

Doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it? Oh well...

Anyways, last year’s TVAAS said that I’m a three. Out of five. Average. My students gained exactly one year’s progress with me last year. No more, no less. That’s not a bad thing, really. Now, TVAAS measures annual growth. So if a student comes to your class with a low score they have lots of room to improve. If a student comes to your class with a high score they have less room to improve. That makes sense. I taught only honors students last year. There are lots of perks to teaching honors students, and, trust me, I would not want to go back to the mess that was my first year of teaching, but it’s so hard to bring students up from a 99. They have so little room to improve. And if they miss one more question this year than they did last year, I must not have done my job very well. It’s frustrating. Very. Very. Frustrating.

But enough whining. Next year, we’re going to kick this thing in the ass. We being me and my students. They just don’t know yet how INVESTED they are in doing well. I want a four or a five. Less than that simply isn’t good enough for me. I’m mean enough that I don’t want to be average (did you see what I did there?). Anyways, I have a plan- a plan that involves lots of extra summer work for me. But that’s what it takes to get better.

And about this time next year- I’ll be chanting FIVE, FIVE, FIVE! Scratch that, I’ll be giving out high fives! What up!

Matriculation is such a fun word.

I first encountered the word matriculation via Buffy. I thought Willow was punning mastication (among other things) until I realized much later it was an actual word. Anyways, it's about time I start the process of matriculation again. 

Grad School.

Oh, how this fills me with an irrational terror. I’ve been on the other side of the learning process for three years now. I’m so used to being in control of my own little domain (of which I am the supreme awesome ruler-queen) and it’s very hard for me to relinquish that control. I tend to boss around waiters like they’re fifteen and find myself counting off wait times in my head during everyday conversations. I’ve got the teacher bug, and I’ve got it bad. The only times I have to practice being a student are during PD sessions. Most of these are spent grading papers or shhhh…facebooking. I’d beat a child if he or she were facebooking in my class. **not really** But yeah, I think getting in the groove of grad school would be hard for me.

I don’t know if I’ll remember how to be a good, respectful, A+, hardworking student. I can get a little sassafrassy when I feel like something or someone is wasting my time. I don’t think I’ll be able to turn to the instructor and say, “Look dude, time will pass as you sit here and do nothing, but YOU may not.” See, that works really well with reluctant students. It’s funny enough not to be mean or confrontational, and it gets my point across clearly: GET OFF YOUR LAZY BUM AND DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE WITH YOUR LIFE YOU LAZY BUM!! Hey, maybe I will be able to be tactful.

After all, I survived Petty’s class not once, but twice, AND I only threatened to vandalize Dr. Dickhead’s billboard.

Dirty Secret Time: I started grad school the summer after my first year of teaching. I was commuting back and forth between home (with summer preps, volleyball stuff and my own general summer debauchery) and school (statistics and something about Marzano). There was a lot on my plate, but I persevered and finished my summer classes. Then school started back up including longer VB practices and a fuller schedule. We had switched to trimesters, and I had all Honors classes (it was an honor to have them…yeah, I went there…). Softball was looming in the spring. (P.S. Softball is about twenty million times more stressful and time consuming than VB ever is.) I was swamped. There was no debauchery to fall back on to blow some steam like in the summer. It just became too much, something had to give, and I quit. I’m not proud of this. I’m not a quitter, but there it stands. I couldn’t find a way to do it all- which is pretty aggravating in and of itself.

That question still bugs me a little: will I be able to do it all this go around? I don’t want to leave the classroom. My plate is a little less full and I can eat faster now, but I’m worried that I’ll start up another program and have to drop it again for sanity’s sake. The solution here is to only do the things that I’m passionate about for healthy amounts of time. As long as I love it, then I’ll make time for it. I OBSESS over VB and Speak lesson plans. I don’t mind devoting hours to figuring out rotations or constructing new pbl plans. It’s actually pretty fun stuff.  Ask me to plan for Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God though, and you’ll just get a rant about the evils of Puritans.

Damn Puritans.

The Plan: I’m going to focus my grad school in a field I LOVE: English. Not teaching, not best practices or administration (God, forbid!) but the pursuit of Literature. (That’s right, capital L. Yeeeah, call me Ted. ) This is a given. I little l love teaching. I big L love lit. And, over the course of this year, I have to decide WHERE I want to attend grad school.

Option #1: If I’m still ok with living in the ‘burg and have decided to stick with my current job with all of its perks and problems, then I will attend the University of Memphis. Not coaching softball would be a huge help here, as I’ll have more time to devote to school stuff for the majority of the year. The only rough time would be during VB season and I’d just have to take a lighter (or more compelling) course load.

Option #2: Move away and attend grad school somewhere else. By move, I mean MOVE like get up off that thing and dance til you feel bettah!

a.     Texas- it’s warm, things are larger there, it gave us W. W as in Why not?

b.     Florida- again, it’s warm and I love the ocean. Location, location, location.

c.     Phoenix- I think it’d be a fun city to live in. Plus, the chance to see Steve Nash on a semi-regular basis. It would help our romance along, I think. Love you, second favorite Canadian! (Especially since Shane Battier is no longer a viable option. Silly marriage. Silly babies.)

d.     California- Warm, and just really different from where I’ve been before. I loved Berkeley and San Francisco. A lot. A lot a lot. Plus- it’s really pretty.

**Caveats to Option #2: Depending on where I end up, I might still teach and go to school. Why not? I like challenges and two new environments would be stimulating. OR I could go to school full time. Again, why not?

We’ll see how the year progresses. I got me some larnin’ to do.

 

This nifty little index card came from one of my favorite blogs: thisisindexed.com

Wrap it up, Trojans!

Seriously, that was our motto the year we made our first run at state. Because we’re classy like that.  

I had never even thought about state. I just wanted to beat ‘evil’ CC and DC. But we just kept winning. We steamrolled districts, regionals, substate and got our butts handed to us at state. I had amazing sophomores and seniors that year who kept hitting big hits and getting to big blocks, a junior setter with a tough mental game who ran what I wanted without me having to tell her, and a junior libero that just ate court.  We were pretty beast, and it was a formula that worked...until we made it to state, lost two straight and headed back home. The girls were pleased, but, honestly, I wasn’t. So I began to plan that summer how to make it back.

Last year, our motto was STATE! We called state when we passed balls, when we left huddles, when we won games. We lived and breathed playing state ball to make it back.  Just make it and win a set. Just make it and win a set. We won a whole freaking match! And came very close to winning the two we lost that put us out. It was better, but not good enough.

This year, I know what we need to do in order to win. I want to start the second day at state in the winner’s bracket so we need to win both games on the first day. It is very do-able. Returning players look strong, have tournament experience and they’re mean. They want to win so badly.  We have some key spots to fill this year but I think we’ve got the determination to make things work for us when we need to. The girls are definitely willing to put in the work and grit and grind out a win. That’s what it takes. 

A couple of things are in our favor this season: big hitters and blockers are coming back, most for at least two more seasons. We still have a very tough serving game. Mentally, we’re strong. Our district has been split into divisions and that plays into our favor. Heavily for now. I could see that downswinging in the next few years though. Most importantly, what’s looking like my varsity squad for next season has tournament experience and they want to go back. Winning one match wasn’t enough. They want them all. I love it!

You see, I’m very competitive. I HATE to lose...very very Ricky Bobby when it comes to playing ball. I love that these players are so competitive too. I love that with volleyball, unlike the classroom, there is instant gratification when it comes to instructing. Often times a student will have to practice a while to get a skill- constant review. In volleyball, by the time these girls make it to high school - because I have such an awesome prep program- it’s more about minor adjustments and mental capacity to remember and execute than teaching footwork or ball handling skills. After a long day teaching, it’s really rewarding to teach a play and then watch it unfold again and again in practice perfectly. Like we’ve done it all of our lives. 

Hurry up, August! I’m ready for October.

Ssiiiiiimmmbbbbaaaa

You know, I would apologize for not blogging over the weekend, but I’m not all that sorry. My weekend was awesome. I’m awesome. You’re awesome! <- see the exclamation mark there? 

So, moving on... I’m going to cram two posts into one today as I proctor this EOC. That’s fodder for a nice long rant on its own. 

First, I love my roomies so very much. I also love our intervention wall...yes, yes, I know.   I also love taking pictures, but with the pressures of teaching, coaching and a general lassitude about life lately, I haven’t taken very many in a long time. That’ll change soon. Especially if Roomie K buys that super awesome camera, and she agrees to let me use it. Smiles!

Second and on to the meat of the post: You guys don’t know how much I adore the King. Come to think of it, I love all Kings: Elvis, LeBron, all 800 million King Henry’s, Simba, Tut. Heck, I used to even LIKE the Sacramento Kings. No, not really. They’ve always sucked. 

However, my equal parts intense adoration and intense hatred for the one and the only Stephen King have no comparison. Seriously, I love that man. The Stand literally changed my life. I’m no Robin. When I say literally, I mean literally. I read The Stand, got a summer cold, lived in fear for about two days.  His books have consistently changed the way I view the world and the people in the world. If that’s hokey or sentimental, I’m probably not going to apologize for it either... 

I hate him too. It’s a very up and down relationship that we share. Katy Perry would love us; we could be her muse for more teeny-bopper crap. He infuriates me sometimes. The  ending of The Dark Tower series was not worth the buildup. I honestly don’t think that Roland EARNED that horn at the end. What did he do but suffer some EEEEE’s and shoot snitches out of the sky? Really? And King, you made yourself a character in your own FICTIONAL book....what the hell, man? I don’t know how many times I just stopped after Wizard and Glass because that little lit device turned my stomach. And then, you give us amazing wonderful greatness like The Talisman or The Green Mile intermixed with Dreamcatcher. What are you doing?? C’mon... The peaks of your writing are amazing. I want to Peter a tent on those peaks. But the valleys are oh, so low...honestly, the only comparison I can make is to Mercerism. (And if you can guess what either of those two allusions are referencing, I’ll give you a cookie.)

All that to say, for the past few years it has been my intention to collect and read all of King’s canon. I’m ashamed to realize that while I own several of his works, I have not read as much as I thought I had. I’m woefully behind.  I’m even more ashamed to realize that most of what I’ve read the general populace has read as well. I’m woefully embarrassed. 

Gotta do something about that. So here’s the list. I’ve bolded the ones I’ve read and starred the ones that I am most excited about. I might start this one a few days early if I can finish Storm of Swords and Feast of Crows in the next few days.

1. Carrie 
2. Salem’s Lot
3. The Shining
4. Rage
5. Night Shift
6. The Stand
7. The Long Walk
8. The Dead Zone
9. Firestarter
10. Roadwork
11. Danse Macabe
12. Cujo
13. The Running Man
14. TDT: The Gunslinger
15. Creepshow
16. Different Seasons
17. Christine
18. Pet Sematary
19. Cycle of the Werewolf
20. The Talisman
21. Thinner
22. Skeleton Crew
23. The Bachman Books
24. It
25. The Eye of the Dragon
26. TDTII: The Drawing of the Three (I’m with Kevin here: legs are a necessity for any quest.)
27. Misery
28. The Tommyknockers
29. Nightmares in the Sky
30. The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition
31. Four Past Midnight
32. TDTIII: The Waste Lands
33. Needful Things
34. Gerald’s Game
35. Dolores Claiborne
36. Nightmares and Dreamscapes
37. Insomnia
38. Rose Madder
39. The Green Mile
40. Desperation
41. The Regulators
42. TDTIV: Wizard and Glass
43. Bag of Bones
44. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
45. Hearts in Atlantis
46. On Writing
47. Secret Windows
48. Dreamcatcher
49. Black House
50. Everything’s Eventual
51. From a Buick 8
52. TDT: The Gunslinger: Revised and Expanded Edition
53. TDTV: Wolves of the Calla
54. TDTVI: Song of Susannah 
55. TDTVII: The Dark Tower
56. Faithful
57. The Colorado Kid
58. Cell
59. Lisey’s Story
60. Blaze
61. Duma KEy
62. Just After Sunset
63. Under the Dome
64. Blockade Billy
65. Full Dark, No Stars
66. 11/22/63
67. TDT: The Wind Through the Keyhole

18 days until 25; 17 days until BON freaking JOVI! (He will talk to me...)