The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

Yesterday I received three phone calls from a blocked number (which I did not answer). One voicemail was left. I couldn't understand most of it, but I definitely got the "I'm going to get you... fat, ugly, b**ch" part. Obviously it was a friend of C.'s. I investigated in my classroom, and none of the kids knew anything about it. And if they were going to prank me, wouldn't they have done it before now? Also, C. has bragged about threatening calls she's made in the past, so I have not doubt it's her. So I'm filing a police report tomorrow. This girl is seriously crazy. I don't think she'd physically harm me, but I'm worried about her vandalizing my car or something. She's totally capable of it. Even though I can't prove it's her, it will help to have a report filed. If anything else happens, it will all be documented. If she does something that I could press charges for, there will be a history. I just can't

The other day I started watching vintage Sesame Street videos on YouTube to put off doing homework. I was so into Sesame Street when I was little. My mom used to tape record the songs for me, and I had Bert and Ernie pumpkins one year for Halloween that were so cool. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite videos in case anyone else wants to put off homework, or cleaning, or whatever. Enjoy. And please don't make fun of my extreme dorkiness. :)

I had the most drama filled 24 hours... Thursday night was spent with a friend who's having a really hard time right now. My heart just breaks for her, and I wish there was more I could do. I'm pretty sure she reads my blog, so I want her to know that I love her and I'll do anything she needs to help her get through this. As I was driving to work Friday morning, I noticed my car was a little shaky. It continued to get worse, so I quickly pulled over and discovered a flat tire. It was 8:10 a.m. I was irritated that I'd be a little late to work, but not worried because I have OnStar. They hooked me up with Saturn Roadside Assistance, and Saturn said they dispatched someone from some local service. The local service called to say they'd be there in 45 minutes. I graded papers and sang with my iPod, and 45 minutes came and went. I'm getting bored typing this, so I'll just summarize- they never showed up. I was stuck for 3 hours. They called me like,

I have a few comments to make about the TV I've been watching tonight. I needed a chill night; I stayed 3 hours after school preparing for this Environmental Detectives unit I'm starting tomorrow. I love the new season of the Real World, and I have a crush on Dave, the sexy blonde who probably used to be quarterback of his high school football team. He would never go for a girl like me, but I can dream, right? Does anyone else agree with me that he is so hot, and his adorable, sweet personality makes him even hotter? I'm watching the Cubs now, even though I should be in bed. I have to see if they're going to win. I was just thinking that I feel kind of bad for the Rockies. There are so many Cubs fans there. It's got to be kind of disheartening to have all these people at your stadium who are cheering for the other team. And it seems like it's like that wherever they go. It's just cool to be a Cubs fan.

I don't have one main thing to write about today, just lots of little things. I had dinner with friends from high school last Friday and had such a nice time. Every time I see these girls, I think, "Why don't I hang out with them more often? They're so fun!" So I'm going to make more of an effort and try to not be so lazy about driving to the suburbs. I love the Cubs. I've somehow acquired this reputation at work for being a Cubs fan (maybe it's because I teach on the south side), so I've had to keep up with the games because people are always asking me about them. I never used to like watching baseball, but lately I really enjoy it. It's just relaxing; I grew up with it always on in the background. I miss Harry Caray's voice. My dad and I watched Cubs Forever the other night, and it was a nice bonding activity. He loved reminiscing about all the old games. He had either been to or watched a lot of the games they featured on the s

My cousin Amber sent me this link to a really nice article about the Heroes of Today , referring to teachers. I don't know if I'd ever think of myself as a hero, but it's a nice article. It's nice to know that teachers are appreciated. And I didn't realize that even with our summer vacation, we work more hours in 9 months than the 40-hour work week people do. But I'm not surprised. I will save this info for the next time I meet someone and they make an obnoxious comment about me having the summer off. My friends are all awesome and respect my job, but there are still people out there who have no idea how hard teachers work. This is definitely not to say that other professions don't work hard, too. I think everyone should get the summer off! There are definitely jobs out there that are a lot more stressful than teaching. I had a really sweet teaching moment last week. I have this student, A., who is very difficult. He's been a behavior problem

The boots I've been dreaming about. Well, not quite. I wanted brown boots, but black is probably more practical since I have a lot more black clothes, especially black going-out clothes. But these boots are almost exactly what I wanted. So I got them for myself as a graduation gift. Between this purchase and my little spring break shopping spree, I think my Dillard's card is just about maxed out. But it was definitely worth it. Tonight will be the last time I go line dancing in inappropriate shoes.

School district closed due to threat

I have spent almost the entire day working, and I feel like the end is in sight. All I have left are minor things like Appendixes; most of the writing is done. I had to submit Chapters 1-4 on Monday, which I was really reluctant to do since I knew I was missing so much and was so far behind. But I turned it in anyway, because the purpose was for the prof to make suggestions so when we turn it in for real, we will get good grades. I got mine back today, and this is what the prof wrote: "WOW - You have done an excellent job on this. You should be feeling a real sense of accomplishment. I wish everyone's ARP was in this shape! : )" I felt like jumping up and down, but I'm too sick.

I am completely exhausted. This Action Research Project is the equivalent of a thesis, and it's killing me. But I only have about ten pages left, and I graduate in less than three weeks. I know I haven't been answering my phone or returning calls and texts and emails as much as I should, and I apologize. But I really don't think I should be allowed out in public at this point anyway; I'm no fun. Well, unless you really enjoy hearing about student motivation and engagement. On top of being stressed, I'm sick again. I'm wondering if that ENT doctor was right, and I should have my tonsils out. But I hear that the older you get, the more painful it is. Still, I'm getting sick way too often, and that's painful, too. Right now I want to reach in and just rip out my tonsils. So maybe surgery would be a good alternative. Nina and I discussed our lists of things to do this summer. Nina suggested some type of slip 'n' slide, and the idea evolved

It seems like all I've been talking about lately is the crazy C. situation, so I figured I should write an update about the other areas of my life. Saturday was a glorious day to be outside, and Nina and I played tennis and then got snowcones. Seriously, what could be better? Saturday night was not as exciting, however. Nina and I signed up for this thing called Crazy Blind Date. You schedule a date (single or double) on their website, and like an hour before the date they tell you where to go and you don't get to see the person till you actually get there. It sounded fun, but we ended up not even going! We never got texts; apparently our standards were too high and they couldn't find someone to match us with. Nancy and I are trying again this Friday, so hopefully it will work this time. The next four weeks are going to be incredibly stressful, and I'm wondering what I got myself into. I have to finish my Action Research Project (it's the equivalent of a thes

After the nice email C. sent me last week, I started feeling guilty. I talked to a friend about it what I should do, and she made a comment about how it depends on how big my heart is. Well, that got to me. So we talked about it more and I came up with a plan. Since it was obvious that C. was not going to leave me alone till I told her we could be friends again, I would send her an email saying we could be friends, but that it wouldn't be like it was before. I would let her think that she's getting her way, but then not respond to texts or phone calls, and when she wants to hang out, I will tell her I'm busy. My friend said she would get the picture eventually, but the drama would stop. Yesterday I sent C. this email: "Thank you for your apology. I forgive you. I apologize as well for the misunderstanding. It’s not true that I didn’t care about your grandfather’s death. We can be friends, but not like we used to be. I think we could have recovered from this (at

Have you ever had to break up with a friend? It’s a lot like ending a dating relationship. You realize that it’s just not working; you’re too different. The other person’s flaws are just too much for you- lying, name-calling, manipulation, tantrums, rudeness, etc. It’s hard because you see her good traits, too- that’s why you became friends in the first place. When she tells you to be quiet because you’re loud, or cuts in line at Space Mountain, or lies about something insignificant, you remind yourself of those positive traits, and that we all have our faults. Who are you to judge? But sometimes, people are just not compatible. Maybe some people can live with this girl’s faults, but you can’t handle them all. And so you have to end the relationship. It’s hard because you know it’s going to hurt her, and that’s the last thing you want to do. Ideally, you would just stop hanging out outside of work, then let the texting and phone calls taper off too, until you just have a pol