The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

Ryan texts me this when he's stressed. This is how I feel. I stayed for a few hours after work to get some stuff done. On my way out, my principal told me there's a meeting after school tomorrow at the district office for Title I teachers that I need to attend. Apparently I'm a Title I teacher. Who knew? So I have this meeting tomorrow, and I'm going to have to present at some event called Curriculum Night on Tuesday. My principal doesn't even know what it is. I'll find out tomorrow, and I'll have to put together the presentation this weekend. There will be parents and administrators there. I have to say, there is one administrator I am not looking forward to seeing. Ugh. There was one nice thing about my conversation with my principal. She asked what happened during that meeting with the sup the other day. I told her as matter-of-factly as possible, trying to keep my opinion out of it. She was speechless and finally said she would keep her opin

You know how my district is currently on a pay freeze while our union negotiates our next contract? Well, I heard a rumor today that it might last for the next two years. Our contract expired in June, but they couldn't come to an agreement. So it was decided that meetings would resume in September, and we would take a pay freeze until then. I wasn't worried at first. I figured the nice $8,000 raise I'm due for would kick in in like, October. (I have my masters + 18 now, which puts me in a new column on the salary schedule.) And that retroactive pay would be nice; they would be forcing me to save my money. If I don't get my raise, I am so screwed. I was counting on that money. I am so done with this district. My friend had a great idea for how I should handle being late to practicum. She asked how many sick days I have left, then suggested that I take a half day every week so I can make it to practicum on time. If I'm leaving the district anyway, who cares

For a while now, I've planned on this being my last year in my district. Today was the last straw. I am now at the part of my grad program where I do practicum, and there has been all sorts of drama. I won't go into detail because it's not interesting, but half of the problem was Concordia being disorganized. But basically it comes down to the fact that I can't make it to practicum on time. So, the day before practicum started last week, my professor emailed me and suggested that I just do practicum at my own school. This seemed like the perfect solution to me because I'm very independent. I don't want to do things with everyone else; just tell me what to do and I'll run with it. My principal was enthusiastic about the idea and didn't seem to think it was a big deal, even when I mentioned that the sessions would have to be videotaped. Almost as an afterthought, she mentioned that I'd just need to get final approval from the assistant superinte

Kelly and I hosted a Game Night last night. (Sketch by Whitney.) We played Uno first. (Still life by Whitney.) Noreen, me, and Ryan looking at Porn For Women. Then there was a huge game of Catch Phrase. I counted at one point- 17 people were playing. Lots of fun. (Awkward pic- Ryan didn't want his picture taken.) Good times, good times.

I got a bad haircut, and now I don't want to leave my house. It's kind of like a Carol Brady mullet. I don't know what to do to make it better. What sucks is that my guy always does such a great job with my hair, and I always tell him to just do whatever he wants. Yesterday I brought in a picture of what I wanted (shoulder length, graduated layers that frame the face) and I ended up with this craziness. Maybe I'll go to Target and look for a cute hat I can wear to the Game Night I'm hosting tonight.

Isaiah 40:27-29 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?" Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. I just emailed this passage to a friend who's going through a difficult time. I really love these verses. There was one time a few years ago when I was going through a lot. One night I just randomly opened my Bible to Isaiah 40 and knew that was exactly what God wanted me to be hearing. The part I really like is "His understand no one can fathom." God totally gets what we're going through, no matter what it is. I'm so thankful for the reassurance these verses bring.

Another great weekend. Ryan was out of town this weekend, so I was responsible and didn't drink or stay out late. Friday night I just stayed in and played Wii. I am getting good at bowling. Ryan should be worried. I told him he better put directions to Sonic in his GPS, because he'll be headed there very soon to get me a cherry limeade. Saturday morning I headed out to an apple orchard in DeKalb with my mom and Nancy. We go every year, which is funny because Nancy's allergic to apples. This year we didn't even pick the apples. We just went in the store, bought some apples and baked goods (mmmm, apple donuts), and headed to the outlet mall. Nancy and I got a little out of control. We know we shouldn't shop together, but we just can't help it. My mom said our spending was painful to watch. Oops. We ended the day with cherry limeades at Sonic. I spent Saturday evening making this: It was for Ryan. Not sure why... I guess because he helped with my bike

The Pre-K kids scare me, but they also crack me up. Today I read them Stellaluna, a story about a bat. I held up the book with the bat on the front and asked, "Does anyone know what kind of animal this is?" One boy yelled, "A tiger!" and everyone agreed. I said, "No... why don't we try again?" And another boy said, "A goat?" After reading Stellaluna, we attempted to play "Bat, Bat, Bird" (Duck, Duck, Goose). It was hilarious to watch them trying to figure it out. When they lined up to leave, a little girl told me I could come to her birthday party. Awesome. This is the best part of my new position- working with all different grade levels. Other than that, I really miss my old school. I went out to dinner with some friends from my old school, and we talke for 2 and a half hours. I miss them so much! They've been in the district longer than I have and agreed with my conclusion that my new school is very clique-ey. I th

Teachers in urban areas often have conversations about the outrageous names they encounter. Today one of my coworkers told the story of a girl named La-a. The teacher was puzzled and thought it must be pronounced "Laya." When she asked the mom, the mom replied that her name was "Ladasha. The dash don't be silent."

I got to do almost everything I wanted this weekend. Friday I was tired (since I started my weekend the night before at Simone's), so I went over to Ryan's and we watched Empire Records, one of the best movies ever. Saturday I sang at my friend's wedding. I was so glad I got to do the Schubert Ave Maria among other things. It was a beautiful ceremony in a gorgeous church, and I loved every minute of it. Saturday night got a little crazy. It started out with me and Ryan at the Sixteen Candles show at Bash on Wabash. Lots of fun. Then we went to a bar, where I surpassed the amount of beers I should've had. Then we went to this crazy house party with Stephanie, where there was a bit of drama with Ryan. Specifically, he got mad that I am a drama queen. We went back to his apartment (after he almost left me there) and he very calmly pointed out my character flaws. I was upset. He was right, but it still sucked. There was a lot of conversation and stuff, and I didn

I love to play tennis. It is the one sport I can actually play without being completely retarded. However, I'm far from being good. Very far. Well, I mentioned something about tennis last week, and Ryan said he could kick my ass. I didn't appreciate that (even knowing that it was true), so I started talking trash back. And now there is a bet. I HAVE to win. If I do, I get cherry limeades from Sonic once a month for a year AND Ryan will go line dancing at DC's. But there's no way I can win. I can't even hit the ball hard. What am I going to do???

Today I taught my second graders about making connections. We read a little poem about the moon, and I said, "This reminds me of something, but it's a secret. Can you keep a secret? It's kind of embarrassing." Of course, it wasn't anything important. But about 5 minutes later (when we were talking about something else) a very serious little boy raised his hand. "Can I tell my mama?" "What do you mean?" "Can I tell my mama? She's real good at keeping secrets." Adorable.

My new bike comes today. Ryan wanted to hang out last night, but I was busy. So I asked him if he'd help me put my new bike together sometime this week. When he's finished doing that, I'm going to tell him what a jerk he is. The only problem is that I'm having trouble holding onto my anger. Nina and Whitney were right; I'm too forgiving. I should have talked to him on Sunday when I was really upset. But don't worry, he won't get off too easily. I'm definitely going to just put it all out there. After the bike is assembled.