THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL

Photo Documentary of The Inaugural Meal

2011-01-26T21:54:00.007-06:00

Here's Dak mere moments after telling her we were skipping class in order to cook dinner for Dad. You can see how upset she is:

Here's a long shot of her pouting, and part of the initial kitchen set up. Note recipe on the computer. (And reading for grad school nearby. Because, you know, I might be able to get those 162 pages read while standing in the kitchen.)

Setting the table. My theory: if it looks good, nobody will care what it tastes like. (Added bonus here is the shot of Jim's and my filing system for our doctoral work in the background on the dining room buffet. Enjoy.)

Then I laid out the ingredients. This seemed like an important step to me at the time, though now it seems totally ridiculous. At this point I'd managed to thoroughly read the recipe about 3-4 times, and limited myself to only one call to KC to ask about greasing the pan. Try not to be overwhelmed with the numerous ingredients about to go into this meal.

Here's the chicken resting on a bed of uncooked rice, moments before adding the cream of chicken soup.

And here's the chicken and rice just moments before going in the oven, the chicken now covered in cream of chicken soup and topped with a packet of onion soup. Are you blown away by the difficulty of this recipe, yet?

Preparation of the I Forgot the Name Fruit Sauce, which is just a mixture of sour cream and brown sugar. Mix to taste. (Now I'm even sounding like I know what I'm doing.)

Strawberry Dessert Cup with I Forgot the Name Fruit Sauce. See theory above.

Steaming the broccoli. This was much harder than anticipated. I told myself once, "I think it needs longer," but then took it off then anyway since Kari told me to. This proved to be expert advice, because by no small miracle, the broccoli was perfectly done.

Gratuitous photo of Dak:

The final presentation. Can I get an Amen?

My new New Year's Resolution

2011-01-26T09:13:00.003-06:00

I'm going to cook, dammit.

Tonight is my inaugural meal. I'm going to be making this chicken and rice dish. I'm also going to steam some broccoli. There will probably also be bread.

For dessert, we're going to have strawberries with some sauce I don't know the name of. I'll document with photos.

Dear Rachel

2010-03-01T17:19:00.003-06:00

Today is March 1st, which means that you somehow managed to barely get through the month of February.

Next year, remember this:

In February, you will undoubtedly:

hate your job
wonder why you went into teaching
despise some students
leave work feeling uninspired and uninspiring
have forgotten that you felt the exact same way last February.

Don't forget: you DO NOT like February, and February does not like you.

Here's to March!

xoxo,

Rachel

The Disparity

2010-02-18T12:35:00.003-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, I was talking to Teaching Pal Tim about teaching all day Wednesday and then going to grad school in the evening. The difference between the actual goings-on in my classroom and the ivory tower are pretty alarming. Tim had the good idea of posting one comment from school and one element of grad school per week.

Good idea, Tim.

Someone should use this stuff for a dissertation on the teacher/graduate student dual identity. Not me, but someone should.

School: "I have to eat lunch during class because I'm busy making out with my boyfriend during actual lunch."

Grad school: 50 minutes explicating the following Maxine Greene passage from "Curriculum and Consciousness":
"Although I am going to claim that learning, to be meaningful, must involve such a 'going beyond,' I am not going to claim that it must also be in the imaginative mode. Nor am I going to assert that, in order to surpass the 'given,' the individual is required to move into and remain within a sealed subjectivity. What I find suggestive in the criticism of consciousness is the stress on the gradual disclosure of structures by the reader. The process is, as I have said, governed by certain cues or norms perceived in the course of reading. These demand, if they are to be perceived, what Jean Piaget has called a 'continual decentering' without which [the individual subject] cannot become free from his intellectual egocentricity."

Oh boy.

Freakshow

2010-02-02T16:34:00.002-06:00

Today was the start of second semester. I had three new sets of Pubic Speakers, and as of 8:30 this morning, two of those three sections were already filled to capacity--as in, I already had more students than desks.

Historically, the start of second semester doesn't go well for me. I'm entirely frazzled from wrapping up first semester and preparing for second semester in whiplash inducing turnaround time, and I'm mistakenly assuming that my new students will heart me as much as my old students did. Immediately. As in, they will walk in my room and will pick up where old kids left off, despite the fact that old kids didn't heart me right away either.

This generally leads to a lot of overcompensating by me--lots of jokes, lots of self-deprecation, lots of attempts to engage the newbs in the class and in my life. When this fails, as it always does, I begin to just talk about how weird the start of second semester is, how painful that they all don't know me yet, and I assure them that in 3-4 weeks time, they'll love me! They'll really love me!

I'd say the low point today was when I exclaimed that a sophomore boy (in a Public Speaking class dominated by huge, senior jock boys) was "so cute and little!"

To my benefit, I should point out that a girl from that same hour stopped at the door, turned to me and said, "I don't know you, but I want to BE you" on her way out. I'm going to guess she either didn't like the poor soph boy that I exclaimed over and was grateful for the total embarrassment I forced him to endure, or was entirely charmed by my freakshow song and dance today.

But "cute" and "little"?? Jesus! What was I thinking?!?

Edina teachers fight for a fair contract

2010-01-26T16:48:00.001-06:00

Update

2009-12-16T00:16:00.003-06:00

Today I found myself saying the following to one of my sophomore boys:

"Can you please not peel your orange in the shape of a penis and two testicles?"

There's just plain not a lot of dignity in that. He tried to pass it off as an elephant with two big ears and a trunk, but seriously?

There are three more days. KC keeps reminding me that we're just trying to "keep the lid on." I fear the lid is off. Way off.

There are four more days before winter break

2009-12-14T20:13:00.002-06:00

I believe my favorite part of today was during lunch when a colleague started a conversation with me like this:

"Hey Rach, you'll appreciate this, I made a kid cry today."

I can see her point. I mean, today Tim and I tagteamed the shaming of a student who left used kleenexes in the middle of Tim's classroom floor. I called his math teacher and had her send him back to Tim and me for the shaming. I sneered at the kid who responded to my gleeful, "Hey kids, I finished grading your essays!" with "Took ya long enough." I scoffed at the student who asked me how many sentences should appear in his essay test. When he didn't let up, I mocked his suggestion that I would be the kind of teacher that was going to be counting his sentences. And finally, I told a student that if she didn't stop talking while other students were finishing their test, not only would I give her a zero on it, but it would fill my heart with gladness to do it.

That's the holiday spirit, no? It's going to be a long four days, folks. A very long four days.

Christmas

2009-12-13T01:34:00.002-06:00

It's currently 1:34 a.m. Around 10:00 p.m. tonight, I decided to do this:

I'm pretty proud of that. I even wrapped all of the presents we've purchased thus far. Dakota (as you can see) is wondering why in all hell we're not upstairs sleeping.

She's tired because this afternoon Jim and I took her for a walk, and then took her off the leash and let her run around in the snow at Groveland School. She ran back and forth between us, the sun was shining, the snow was still perfectly white, and I must say, it was a damn nice winter moment, even if it did make me miss the girls.

All these posts about Dakota, you've probably forgotten that I have a niece

2009-09-24T16:40:00.002-06:00

Chakotay

2009-09-21T19:07:00.009-06:00

I'm sure you've been dying to see pictures of our baby. I mean, our dog. What with me packing a backpack for Dakota every day filled with toys, an extra blanket, and treats for good behavior when she goes to Auntie Cyndy's for daycare, and Jim going to sleep with Dakota when she woke up at 4:00 a.m. last night with what we can only assume was a bad dream, you can see how we'd be confused.

5 months old on Wednesday. 38 pounds. Aw, whatagoodgirl.

Puppy Goodnight Song

2009-08-15T09:46:00.002-06:00

I think Jim should try this with Dakota.

Whosagoodgirl?

2009-08-03T23:31:00.004-06:00

I'm sure you've been wanting to see some more photos of Dakota. She's 14 weeks old now. She likes to take naps on Mom's lap, sleep, dig, and play at the beach, lounge around on camp chairs, and pose for photos in the front yard.

Intarshation

2009-08-03T17:14:00.002-06:00

Today, Anya and I got to spend a little one on one time together. We talked about the normal stuff--you know, wanting to sit under a willow tree with a boy because, you know, that would be so nice, and how much we love Dakota, and how summer is really the best, and we can't wait for our next trip to Arizona because we get to sleep in comfy beds, and, you know, the stuff that happens to us when we die.

Yep. The stuff that happens to us when we die.

Anya: So, when you die, you come back to life as another little boy or girl, huh?

Me: Well, yeah, some people believe that.

Anya: But you come back to life as someone else, right?

Me: Um, well, lots of people believe that. And there's nothing wrong with believing that. But Christians believe that when you die you go to heaven to be with God.

Anya: Oh. Weird. I don't believe that. I believe I'm going to die and come back to life as another girl or boy. That's what I believe.

Me: Okay. That's called reincarnation. Can you say that?

Anya: Intarshation.

Me: Yep. That's it.

Not so baby anymore

2009-07-18T18:35:00.004-06:00

Baby Brother is 24 today. Happy Birthday Mek!

Like a weed

2009-07-16T09:38:00.013-06:00

When we first got Dakota three weeks ago, she weighed 13.3 pounds. Two days later when I took her to the vet, she weighed 14.8 pounds. Two days ago, she was just under 19 pounds. Neighbors have begun exclaiming, "Oh my GOD, look at how she's GROWN!!"

This is where she was:

And this is now where she is:

We've been taking more photos of her than any human could possibly want (we have about two hundred pictures of her sleeping, if you're interested).

I, of course, wanted a nice photo of us together, which we got. See above.

Good behavior never lasts. See below.

Sadly, below is the best of four photos I tried to take of her with Jim.

Last night, Jim, Scout and Anya took her out on Lake Minnetonka. Apparently, she has her sea legs about her and she loved it.

I'm sure the puppy posts will die off soon (can you imagine when I have a kid?), but come on...aren't you just loving her? :)

Double Whammy

2009-07-10T23:54:00.002-06:00

Jim is out of town this weekend with some old buddies, so I'm home alone with The Hole in My Head.

I'm hoping to fully housetrain Dakota while Jim is gone so I can surprise (read, "impress") him with my training abilities. I've always dreamed of having a well-trained dog, but I have a poor track record in the area. When my first dog, a Bichon Frise (an idiot breed of dog that is incapable of learning ANYthing) named Doc, would escape from the house, we couldn't just call him with dignity back into the house. No, we had to run around the neighborhood shaking half-empty potato chip bags shouting, "Doc, wanna chip?!? Don't cha want a chip?!? Yum, CHIPS!" in an effort to lure him back home. Best Friend Nicki would literally hide behind bushes when cars would drive by during this shameful activity. There was no way she would be associated with such behavior, particularly since her Golden Retriever Buddy was both angelically sweet and well trained. Ugh.

So, I dream of a well-trained dog--not particularly the freak-show-well-trained dog that would make it on Letterman's Stupid Pet Tricks because she can do cartwheels, but the kind of dog that can walk beside my calmly and respectfully, the kind of dog that will sit and stay and lie down at a mere glance from me, the kind of dog, you know, at the very least, that isn't embarrassing.

And so, at the risk of jinxing everything, I'd like to announce that Dakota is now walking with purpose to the door consistently when she needs to go out. I've decided that peeing outdoors is step one to well-trained dog heaven.

I'm taking this purposeful walking as a testament to both my teaching and my mothering abilities.

Double whammy. Nice.

The Big Stuff

2009-07-03T11:23:00.005-06:00

It occurs to me that I posted about Dakota, Puppy Extraordinaire, but have failed to post about the other major life changing event of the summer.

Jim and I got married.

There's obviously much to say about that, and I'm sure I'll post some photos as soon as they're available, but at this point, the truest and simplest thing I can say about Jim and me finally being married is that it fills me with the most beautiful, quiet calm--an assurance I didn't know I was missing until it arrived.

We spent a week in Mazatlan right after the wedding--Dad let us stay at his private villa at Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay. For entertainment, we alternated between our own private pool and hot tub, the resort's pools (and swim-up bars), and, you know, the Pacific ocean. Rough, huh? Twice, Jim managed to pull me away from my agenda of nothing, followed up by nothing, to go into Old Town for awhile so we could get a small taste of real culture outside the resort.

It was perfect, perfect, perfect.

Momentary Lapse of Reason

2009-06-29T13:09:00.004-06:00

Proof positive that my parents did, in fact, spend seventeen years of their life together was their identical response to the "Hey, so, Jim and I are thinking about getting a dog" comment.

They each said, in almost the same tone and inflection, "You guys need a dog like you need a hole in your head."

So, ladies and gentlemen, The Hole in My Head:

Aw.

How could a girl resist?

Dakota is a mix between a Labrador Retriever and German Shepherd. We are potty training like CRAZY.

For the record, I'd like to state publicly that there's not a lot of dignity in cheering and clapping and oohing and aahing and carrying on like she's just won the Nobel prize every time she pees or poops outside.

I do, however, do just that. And while I'm doing it, I'm vehemently hoping the neighbors aren't watching.

Finals

2009-06-04T13:19:00.003-06:00

I love giving final exams. I honestly enjoy watching the students write them. I'm filled with goodwill and cheer when they sit in their desks and earnestly write their essays for two hours.

Sometimes they even write me little notes at the end of them:

"Ms. T--u r bomb as hell."

"Tholie-pop--i'm gonna miss u!"

And my personal favorite:

"Your [sic] the best English teacher ever!"

Sometimes the painful irony of these messages kills the goodwill and destroys the cheer.

But not this year. This year I'm all BFF and sunshine, hearts, stars, and lollipops with the children.

Thirty four more minutes, friends. Thirty. Four. Minutes.

The Ponies

2009-04-25T14:08:00.004-06:00

Last night, we started planning a trip to Canterbury with some friends.

This afternoon, digging through some old files on my computer, I found this pic of Little Brother and me at Canterbury a couple of summers ago.

I'm considering it a sign. It's time to start counting down to summer, even if that fills me with anxiety over the wedding fast approaching.

Nothing says summer like betting money you don't have on horses you know nothing about. Fun, fun, fun.

Vigil

2009-04-11T11:01:00.002-06:00

I don't know if it's the Easter weekend, seeing my declining grandmother over spring break, my upcoming wedding in the Lutheran church, my friend's daugher's baptism a few weeks ago, or just coincidence, but I've been thinking a lot about faith lately--what it means, what it is, how it's tied to identity in ways that I don't quite understand and can't quite articulate.

At breakfast this morning, my friend Lyndsay told us about a Bahá'í wedding she went to recently. Only one us really had heard of the Bahá'í faith before, so Lyndsay described it as best she knew. Here's how wikipedia explains it:

"The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Baha'u'llah in nineteenth-centuryPersia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. Bahá'í teachings emphasize the underlying unity of the major world religions. Religious history is seen to have unfolded through a series of divine messengers, each of whom established a religion that was suited to the needs of the time and the capacity of the people. These messengers have included Krishna, Abraham, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and others. Humanity is understood to be involved in a process of collective evolution, and the need of the present time is for the gradual establishment of peace, justice and unity on a global scale."

"Huh," I immediately said, "I think I'm Baha'i."

To which Lyndsay replied, "Yeah, I think we all are."

I'm not, of course, and we all aren't, of course...but its somewhere fitting into this fluid nature of religion and faith and spirituality that's been hitting me over the head lately.

I went to church with my mom last night for Good Friday. It was an impulsive decision--I certainly wasn't planning on going to church, despite the fact that my students were let out at noon yesterday for "staff development," which we all knew was secret, politically-correct district speak for "we're letting the kids out because Jesus is dying today." But Mom came over for dinner, and when she announced that she was leaving to go to church, I told her I'd go with her, surprising probably everyone at the table, including me.

I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic schools (save St. Olaf, which was--for my grandmother--painfully Lutheran), and have an instinctual love for the mass. I don't, however, believe in pretty much any of the teachings of Catholicism anymore, despite its deep roots in the foundation of my childhood. I prefer the Protestant notion of grace alone leading to salvation, of the symbolic nature of communion, of pluralism and acceptance preached from the pulpit rather than exclusivity and piousness.

But, there's still that part of me that loves the formality of the recitation of mass--the kneeling, the memorization of the words, the Nicene Creed about "light from light and true God from true God"--and there's still a part of me that absolutely wanted one of my grandmother's rosaries when my mom offered one to me before leaving Grandma's house. So, I thought I'd go to mass. See what was what, and if nothing else, get out of the house so Jim could work on his master's thesis.

The sad thing is that I left church last night reminded more of why I love attending the Lutheran Church now, than I was reminded of why I still feel so nostaligically tied to the Catholic one. Nothing felt right there, and when the priest laid down face first on the floor in front of the cross for five minutes of solemn silence--something I've seen priests do my whole life at Good Friday Mass--I couldn't help but think, "Alright, that's f-ing weird."

And yet, even in the midst of that realization, I wonder if when Jim and I have a child of our own, if I'll give in to the part of me that will inevitably quietly feel that I should baptize the kid in the Catholic church, too--to pay homage to the faith of my family members who went before, to cover all the bases, to make damn sure the kid knows that they come out of some foundation of Catholicism. I'm not sure why, particularly when I hope to raise the kid in the belief that no faith is better than another, that no faith has the handle on Truth, and that, yes, Great-Grandma's Catholic hologram picture of bleeding Jesus if you look at it this way and Mary, Queen of Heaven if you look at it that way, is weird.

So, here I am. Feeling pretty stuck--not necessarily lost in the midst of all of this, since I feel well grounded and not like I'm searching for a way, but definitely stuck between these different notions of faith and who I am and what it means.

Coincidentally, there was a great Op/Ed piece in the NY Times yesterday that talks about all of this--how faith sometimes turns into something that it isn't "supposed" to be, and how increasingly, people are more comfortable with their pluralistic view of faith than they are with the one and only one faith in which they were raised. It's definitely worth a read--it's obviously way better than my fumbling around here seeing as it's, you know, published in the Times.

Also, Hays literally has it. Or them, as the case may be.

2009-03-30T20:17:00.005-06:00

Today at The Mall (the one and only) I found my all-time favorite pair of summer shoes:

Photo courtesy: Payless.com

This wouldn't be that exciting, except that I haven't been able to find them for years and years. They were a staple in my college summer wardrobe, and I was quite sad to see them go.

It's been a long time, folks, but they're back. Oh yes, they're back.

Hays has it.

2009-03-30T20:04:00.002-06:00

I'm in Hays visiting my grandparents for a few days on my spring break.

I wouldn't particularly describe my grandparents as "glass half full" type people. Take, for example, the following exchange between my grandma and me regarding the lavish attention my 16 month old niece gets from every member of the family:

********
Me: I don't think anyone will even notice if I ever have a kid.

Grandma: Ugh. Don't.

Me: What? Don't have a kid?

Grandma: No. It'd just be one more thing for me to worry about.
********

Hmm. Thanks Grandma.

Then there was the warning from Grandpa about my parking choice outside the house:

********
Grandpa: If you park there, the neighbor'll call the cops and have your car towed. Better move it! Now!
********

Hmm. Thanks Grandpa.

I've asked both of them for their perspective on the current economic recession/depression and how it compares to The Great Depression, which they both lived through as children/young adults. Grandma pretty much just shrugged without looking away from the Wheel of Fortune final round. Grandpa, though, surprisingly positive:

"It's better now. No dust storms. About the only damn thing missing is the dust."

Good point, Grandpa. Perhaps we can send that message out to President Obama: It actually COULD be worse. There could be dust storms.

February

2009-02-01T21:54:00.002-06:00

It occurred to me tonight while watching the Super Bowl that I don't have a complete five day teaching school week for the entire month of February. Between some half-day meetings, President's Day, staff development, and jetting off to Arizona, I'd say it's shaping up to be a pretty nice month.

Woot woot.

In other news, here's my favorite pic from Cyndy's January album of Ellen. Wish I had cool historic photos like this of me when I was young.

A whole new day.

2009-01-30T11:45:00.002-06:00

I've been a little appalled by my lack of attention to my blog lately, particularly with such important things happening in my world--in the world.

Barack Obama.

Just his name is worth its own paragraph, I think. The best thing I've seen and read about it is this opinion piece from the NY Times. It is well worth your time.

I also loved the poem read at the inauguration--particularly the parts about "saying it plain" and "what if the mightiest word was love."

Also, my niece is about three seconds away from walking. And speaking full sentences. "Aunt Rachel, I love you so much," is just around the corner, I'm sure.

Also, I'm very much in love with Jim. This is worth writing down and sending out into the universe once in awhile.

Also, I'll start posting on my blog again soon. I miss it. I really do.

Top Ten George W Bush Moments

2009-01-11T15:17:00.001-06:00

Inspiration?

2008-12-30T00:28:00.002-06:00

Bristol Palin had her baby. Check it out.

I don't know this for sure, but here's my bet for the inspiration for the baby's name:

Tripp Darling of Dirty Sexy Money. Who's with me?

Christmas Marathon

2008-12-28T21:34:00.002-06:00

Jim and I had five straight days of Christmas this year. Between my two families, Jim's family, and our own private family Christmas, we celebrated all week long. And it WAS long. It was great, but it was a lot--a lot of family, of gift opening, of food. I'm usually very sad when Christmas is over, but this year, it stayed so long, I was nearly ready to let it go.

Two other small pieces of news:

I'm on the third book of the Twilight series, and I must admit, I can't put the damn things down. I saw the movie today and felt like a fourteen year old girl. I loved it. Thought it was great. Am anxiously awaiting movie number two. I should be embarrassed, right? Or just embrace it? I can't decide. But there it is. I can't get enough of them.
Anya declared over break that she has two mommies--a rich one and a poor one. "Really?" I asked, "which one am I?" "You're the rich one, silly!" she declared proudly. I don't know where she's getting her information, but I've never been one to shy away from embracing a delusion as reality. More power to you, kid.

Will write more soon--

Love,

The Rich One.

Avoidance. On a Whole. New. Level.

2008-11-24T00:20:00.003-06:00

We got home from Wichita late last night. Jim and I figured that out of the 40 hour trip, we were driving for 20 of them. Ugh.

This morning...er, afternoon...when we got up, I thought about the 92 papers I have to grade for the sophs. And then we decided to prepare the house for Christmas.

This is grading avoidance on a whole new level, people. Check this out:

Note the WRAPPED presents beneath the tree. Impressive, I know.

I touched her hand and she smelled like cherries

2008-11-15T11:03:00.002-06:00

The sophs are back to their usual tricks. Yesterday, they were to bring in three typed copies of their literary analysis essay on The Odyssey so they could attempt peer editing. (Kace, this is where you're overcome with nostalgia and start planning your return to teaching.)

Any day a paper is due, I'm regaled by story upon story of computers suddenly breaking down, printers running out of ink, and internet connections instantaneously and incomprehensibly "going down."

Usually, the stories are annoying, predictable, and annoyingly predictable.

But my favorite one from yesterday reminded me of the girl who, last year, told me she didn't know we had homework because I hadn't told her to look at the board where the assignment was written. Here's the same story; a variation on a theme:

"Michael, do you have your paper?"

"Uh, no. I didn't bring it."

"Okay," I said, moving on.

"Well, I have it done, " he said, trying to keep me from gleefully marking a big, fat zero in the gradebook. "I mean, it's totally done, it's just on my computer at home."

"Uh-huh, and it's not here because..."

"Well...I didn't know I had to bring it. I mean, you didn't tell me to print it out and bring it in."

Rapid blinking.

"I mean, if you would have told me to print it, I would have."

My friend Kristin had some funnier, smarter responses to offer the kid than I could think of at the time...something along the lines of having to tell the kid to put his pants on in the morning, and to inhale...then exhale...then inhale...but all I could do was say, "Are you kidding?" and walk away.

I'm losing my edge, people. The fights don't even interest me anymore.

In other news, I read a story in the NY Times this morning about what beautiful, private school the Obama girls will attend this coming year. My favorite part was when a star-struck second grader recalled her brief meeting with the future first-lady when Mrs. Obama visited her school. She said, "I touched her hand and she smelled like cherries."

Aw. I like that. And I bet she does smell like cherries.

Parent/teacher conference

2008-11-07T12:35:00.003-06:00

I read that this morning, Barack and Michelle Obama went to parent/teacher conferences at their daughters' school in Chicago.

Can you imagine being THAT teacher?

A frightening resemblance

2008-11-06T22:05:00.002-06:00

A couple of smart people that I know mentioned that they're worried about having to stop blogging Barack and go back to writing about everyday life.

I must admit, I'm a bit worried about this myself. I mean, until I started blogging Barack, my posts were few and far between, and frankly, not that interesting.

I'll do my best, though, to leave the Sarah Palin hating (did you hear that she didn't know Africa was a continent and not a country?), and the Obama worshipping behind, and return to complaining about...I mean...telling you funny stories about...my high school students.

While clicking around on another smart person's blog, I found a link to this funny video. I didn't like the "empty rhetoric" line at the end, but the video struck a chord with me. You'll see why.

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Yes We Can

2008-11-05T16:29:00.002-06:00

Believe. Hope. Change.

2008-11-04T16:48:00.002-06:00

This afternoon on my way into my polling place, a young mom with her baby in a sling asked me if I'd take her picture with her cell phone next to the "Vote Today" sign. She told me she wanted her son to always know that he was with her when she voted for the first African-American President.

When I told her I was voting for Obama, too, she said, smiling, "Of course. Isn't everybody?"

Here's hoping.

Here's believing.

Madia one day, Klobuchar the next

2008-11-03T16:07:00.002-06:00

Today Amy Klobuchar called me at my house to ask me to vote for Al Franken.

It wasn't quite as cool as meeting Madia...but I think I'll save the voicemail from her for awhile anyway.

Free Coffee

2008-11-02T23:26:00.001-06:00

All my ranting about Sarah Palin

2008-11-01T16:11:00.011-06:00

...has distracted me from my other favorite type of posts: pics of the niece.

These were too good to pass up:

Typical form

2008-10-31T22:14:00.003-06:00

This morning I met Ashwin Madia. He and David Dillon (Paulson was unavailable) were participating in a debate at school (don't ask how, I don't know) and I brought my third hour public speaking class to watch and listen.

Madia was standing by the door as we walked in and it would have been awkward for me to take the easy way out and not say anything to him, so I smiled, walked right up to him and started strong:

"Hi. I'm Rachel Tholen and you have my vote."

Then, in typical form, as I've done time and time again when meeting people for the first time who I deem significantly more important than me (that's pretty much everyone), I started talking. Talking nonsensically. Talking quickly. Talking too much. Saying things about how I appreciated his "service to the country" and how I really was hopeful for the election, etc, etc, etc, and painfully, etc.

To his credit, he was very nice to me. Just lots of nodding and smiling and thank yous.

It would have been easier to play it off if one of my seniors hadn't been standing next to me the whole time witnessing this embarrassing habit of mine. As I turned to tell him that we should never speak of this encounter again, he said, "Real smooth, Tholen. Real smooth."

Ugh. Thanks, kid.

But what you really should know is that I was impressed with both Madia and Dillon. I thought they did a nice job of accommodating for their audience--they didn't patronize the kids, but they didn't speak over their heads either. They both talked about the importance of getting involved, in paying attention, in caring about what happens to the country, about youth bearing the brunt tomorrow of the decisions made today. I thought they were smart. I thought they were good. I thought, again, that the world might feel like a different place after Tuesday, and how great that would be.

The Ad

2008-10-30T22:19:00.003-06:00

This afternoon when I got home from school, I watched Obama's 30 minute infomerical that ran in primetime last night. The only thing I'd heard about it was Dan Rather's comment that it was exceptionally well made, and I was curious to see what Obama would do with 30 minutes.

My brother-in-law jokingly asked if it swayed my vote, as though I was watching it to assure myself that yes, I would vote for Obama, and eschew McCain and Bible Spice (thank you Alec Baldwin for that gem).

It obviously didn't sway my vote. For God's sake, Obama had me at the waving wheat fields.

But that wasn't really the point.

The point is that I (no joke) cried through the last seven minutes of the thing. I don't remember a time when I felt so (sorry for the cliche) hopeful about someone and something. It feels good to actually believe in the power of change. It feels good to see millions of people all over the nation stand behind this man and hold him up with their hopes and their beliefs that tomorrow can be a greater day than today has been.

If you haven't seen it, I really do think it's worth watching.

When the Berlin Wall came down, my mom told Cyndy and me that we should remember the moment, try to hold on to it in our minds because it was monumental, because it was significant, because it would change the way we saw the world.

If nothing else, it sure feels good to be on the precipice of another moment like that.

For the love of God, people. Vote Obama/Biden on November 4th.

Cabbage Patch Candidates

2008-10-30T14:46:00.003-06:00

You should spend some time here.

2008-10-28T21:14:00.002-06:00

http://www.palinaspresident.us/
Click on everything you can and make sure your sound is on. Very, very funny.

Someone to look up to

2008-10-24T15:46:00.004-06:00

KC wrote about these photos of Obama and his campain by Callie Shell, and I must say, they are pretty awesome.

Hope

2008-10-23T23:02:00.001-06:00

The Counting

2008-10-23T16:53:00.005-06:00

There are a lot of things that I really hate about paper grading, but the thing I hate most is my compulsion to count, recount, and count again the number of papers that I have yet to grade.

I can't stop doing it.

I'll count. And then I'll grade two papers. And then, I'm not kidding, I'll count AGAIN. I won't even just subtract two from the last time I counted. I will re-fricking-count, as though somehow, some way, the pile has magically gotten smaller by leaps and bounds in the last ten minutes.

Maybe I would feel better about grading papers and not have to constantly count if Barack Obama were my president.

Hmm...

Let's be real. I probably would.

Obama loves Christmas, too

2008-10-22T19:32:00.004-06:00

Today one of my seniors informed me quite matter-of-factly that she was supporting John McCain because she didn't want to lose Christmas.

???????

"Lose Christmas?" I asked, incredulously.

"Yeah. I love Christmas and I don't want to lose it."

"Uh-huh. Did someone tell you that Obama was trying to get rid of Christmas?" I asked, expecting her to spout off something crazy about Obama being a Muslim, an Arab, or a general hater of all things red, green, and Christmasy.

"Yeah. My grandma said that if Obama's president and her taxes go up, we just can't have Christmas anymore."

Right. I mean, it IS hard to have Christmas on SUCH a small budget.

I wish I could have come up with something witty, smart, and equally absurd to throw back at this girl, but all I could think to do was ask if she'd be old enough to vote in two weeks.

Rest assured, people. She's still only 17. And while I'm at it, I might as well admit to not being able to stop myself from saying, "Well thank God for small mercies" as I walked away. To which she turned to her friend sitting next to her and said, "I don't get it...what does that mean?"

This is what I'm dealing with, friends.

Oh, sorry, "my friends." This is what I'm dealing with, my friends.

Powell for Obama

2008-10-19T22:11:00.000-06:00

Ellen supports Obama. Just FYI.

2008-10-16T22:51:00.000-06:00

She also crawls:

At first I was nervous. Then I was like, "whatever."

2008-10-13T18:45:00.003-06:00

Did you see today that the AP interviewed Levi, father-to-be of Bristol Palin's baby?

Levi speaks, people! He speaks! Not well, but then, that's okay. He'll fit right in.

Vote

2008-10-11T23:09:00.001-06:00

No, ma'am

2008-10-11T17:15:00.001-06:00

I used to prefer David Letterman to Jay Leno

2008-10-09T22:22:00.003-06:00

...but then at some point, I switched to Leno so I wouldn't miss any Conan.

I may have to start watching Letterman again, though, if he's going to continue doing stuff like this. I am so, so the target audience for this.

Blogging Obama

2008-10-08T21:10:00.006-06:00

KC told me tonight that I should just go ahead and acknowledge the fact that I'm blogging Obama until the election.

I'm fine with that.

However, in my ongoing attempt to at least mention something besides the election on my blog, here's a nice photo of Jim and me at our friends Maggie and Shana's wedding:

And, here's a photo of us a couple of hours later, well into the open bar and the dancing. A stark difference, no?

Thanks John. I'm proud to say I'm going with "that one."

2008-10-07T22:37:00.001-06:00

Two of my favorite things:

2008-10-06T11:03:00.000-06:00

Poetry and Palin.

Classic.

2008-10-03T07:11:00.000-06:00

Wasn't it obvious?

2008-10-02T21:58:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry. I can't help it.

2008-10-01T20:00:00.002-06:00

KC forwarded me this great blog written by Tom Wise, a prominent anti-racist writer and activist, regarding white privilege and the Presidential election.

You should read it.

And then you should read his follow up.

And for the record, I tried to post something tonight that wasn't about the election. I really did. I just can't.

Maybe tomorrow, but with the VP debate, I see that as highly unlikely.

Even the conservatives are concerned about her.

2008-09-27T11:24:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I was chatting with a coworker after school for nearly 45 minutes about the upcoming Presidential debate.

I can't count the number of times I said, "They just can't really think she can do it, can they?" in regard to Sarah Palin.

Kathleen Parker, at least, is one conservative who agrees with me.

Fair Weather

2008-09-25T22:10:00.003-06:00

Here's to the Twins for thoroughly entertaining me tonight (and for being interesting enough to attract me to their game instead of watching the premiere of Grey's Anatomy).

p.s. For a more thoughtful analysis of the Twins and their push for the playoffs, you can read Jim's blog at http://twinsbullpen.blogspot.com/

p.p.s. Tonight, Mom and I took Ellen to kindermusic where a nice lady named Miss Melanie led us through songs, sashays, sways, and other musical delights. Whatever you're imagining about this experience is true, no matter how wild you think your imagination is running. At one point, there were colored scarves floating through the air.

I think I'm becoming consumed by my disgust with Sarah Palin

2008-09-16T22:02:00.002-06:00

I spent awhile on this blog tonight. Check it out, and if you're moved to, send an email to womensaynopalin@gmail.com to add your thoughts.

Watch this. Please.

2008-09-04T16:55:00.000-06:00

Hold up, Jesse Ventura just made a great point

2008-09-02T22:18:00.002-06:00

I've been pretty much disgusted with John McCain and his VP choice in Sarah Palin since he announced her as his choice last Friday. Initially, I was insulted by the clear assumption that women voters will vote for a woman--any woman--regardless of her politics, but the issues since then just keep compounding. I have a hard time championing a white, married, upper-middle class mother of four for not aborting her baby with Down Syndrome, as though she's the only woman in America (pro-life or not) to do so, and as though any pro-choice woman, in contrast, would have immediately run off to the abortion clinic upon learning of their child's condition in the same situation.

Please.

I'm also growing tired of the "She's just like me" and the "She's just a regular soccer mom" and "She is Everywoman" talk. Am I really the only person in the world who thinks that the office of the presidency and the vice presidency demand more than "regular" and "normal"? I don't want a normal vice-president. I want an exceptional vice-president. I want someone who really is beyond reproach. I want the person, as the Obama campaign so aptly put it, who is a heartbeat away from the highest office in the country to be better than a regular old soccer mom. I want her to kick ass. Palin just doesn't. The only thing I've agreed with the Republican delegates about are their comments about her normalcy and her relatability. Yep, she's pretty average. Yep, she's a mom. So let's make her Vice President? Let's not.

And while I find it lovely that the Obama campaign is taking the high road on their "children are off limits" rhetoric with regard to the "Oh yeah, and by the way, my unwed 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant" story, I've been lapping up news coverage on that any chance I get.

In that light, when I heard Larry King announce that he was having Jesse Ventura on as a guest, I immediately thought, "YES! If there's a person in the world who will spout off about Palin, it'll be Jesse."

The thing about Jesse Ventura is this: if Jesse Ventura weren't so crazy, he'd be pretty great. He also took the high road on the 17 year old pregnancy story and talked about what a difficult situation it is for the Palin family, though also pointed out that it's certainly not a situation that's unique to them--that lots of American families deal with that sort of situation every day.

But that wasn't Ventura's good point.

Larry King, like me, wasn't entirely satisfied with that answer.

When pressed a bit further, Jesse made the winning point that perhaps what we should learn most from the Palin teenage pregnancy is that the abstinence only sex education that the GOP loves to endorse doesn't seem to be very effective, particularly so close to home.

Um, yeah. Good point Jesse. And why hasn't anyone else thrown that in the ring?

So, this one's for you Jesse. Somehow, amazingly, you made a point that nobody else had yet, and dammit, I liked it.

Oh, and school started today

2008-08-25T22:27:00.001-06:00

My feelings on this, I think, go without saying.

The Good Stuff

2008-08-25T22:25:00.002-06:00

Abby makes a good point

2008-08-20T01:05:00.002-06:00

Abby makes a good point in her comment on my last post:

abigail emerson said...
Sorry, can't believe I forgot to comment on the title. "If you had to," as if marrying a TV star would be a real chore. And of all of the TV stars (a group, mind you, that includes Michael Vartan and Bradley Whitford) you would choose Bill Cosby. Clueless dad wearing frumpy sweaters sitting on the couch watching chaos unfold, occasionally contributing somewhat witty comments.
August 19, 2008 10:21 PM

Okay, she makes two good points. One, marrying a TV star probably wouldn't suck. And two, how could I have so quickly forgotten my first true TV love in favor of Bill Cosby?

(photo credit ESPN (?!?))

The only point of clarification here, of course, is that I didn't ever particularly care for the real-life Jason Priestley, but I was head over heels in love with the fictional Brandon Walsh.

As a side note, when I was in elementary school, I wrote a "short story" with a character I created named Todd Winters. Here's a shout out to him, as my first fictional crush.

If I had to marry a TV star, I would choose Bill Cosby.

2008-08-18T14:49:00.007-06:00

It's been a busy week, and it's not slowing down anytime soon.

Last Thursday, we drove down to Omaha for the kid brother's white coat ceremony at Creighton. The ceremony was nice and we were all proud of Michael for being able to walk across a stage and put on a white doctor's coat in front of a large audience without tripping, stumbling, or getting his shirt sleeves caught awkwardly in the coat like so many others. There was lots of celebrating and toasting and general merriment in getting him off on the right foot:

Cyndy and Dave:

Cyndy and me at the tobacco shop...in old barber chairs...which were in the tobacco shop:

I was sad to come home Saturday night.

Today I took the girls to the beach while Jim golfed with Dad:

I would say that this would have been an excellent activity had it not ended in a citation from the Deephaven police for "failure to display parking permit" (which I don't have) and expired license tabs (which I received a ticket for about three weeks ago also).

Ugh.

This Wednesday morning, Jim and I are headed out on our first serious road trip. We're driving Dad's car down to his house in Phoenix and flying back late on Sunday night. We're hoping to be in Hays, America Wednesday night, Albuquerque Thursday night, and Dad's house sometime Friday afternoon. Talk about eking out one more trip this summer.

Superfluous photo of rainbow out my back window at my house:

I'm thinking I could market this kid.

2008-08-12T19:14:00.003-06:00

Anya: When I go to the 'Lympics, I want to be the American.

Me: But Anya, you already are an American.

Anya: I am??

Me: Yeah. You're an American. You live in America.

Anya: Wow! I really LIKE being 'merican!! They get to wear the blue shirts and I REALLY LOVE BLUE!! [jumping up and down and waving arms.]

Slavedriver

2008-07-31T22:18:00.001-06:00

Even though tomorrow is only August 1st, Teaching Pal Jackie is making me work tomorrow.

She is a better teacher than I am.

Works harder than I do.

Becoming increasingly worried that there's a direct correlation there.

Today we played golf at Conviction Creek. Sounds nice, no?

2008-07-27T22:58:00.003-06:00

There's something so funny and unnatural about people falling:

My Uncle Dave is in National Geographic. No, really. He's in National Geographic.

2008-07-24T21:57:00.003-06:00

The actual story in the August 2008 magazine is more interesting to look at because of the pictures, but this is still damn cool.

Check it out.

Operation Forget About the Dog

2008-07-23T22:27:00.004-06:00

Tonight Jim and I took the girls to see Wall-E.

At first, I was very suspicious of the film. I mean, come on, a squeaky robot is the only "living" thing left on Earth and has been compacting trash for the last 700 years until another robot falls out of the sky in search of plant life?

How good could it be?

Pretty damn good, friends. I'm not ashamed at all to say that I out and out really liked the movie, fell in love with little robotic Wall-E a bit, and found the message endearing, thoughtful, and frankly, pretty significant for all the little children pixar lovers out there.

And while I'm on the record, I'd also like to add that it was WAY better than Kung-Fu Panda.

Temporary Insanity

2008-07-22T21:40:00.002-06:00

Jim called me tonight from the parking lot of a pet store, right after texting me this:

There are a million good reasons NOT to purchase this painfully cute female half cocker spaniel, half bichon puppy, right?

I mean, RIGHT?

Because otherwise, I'm considering pleading temporary insanity and becoming the proud mother of this little thing.

God help me, right? RIGHT?

The Pictures

2008-07-21T10:24:00.008-06:00

The people who know you well (and are still your friends)

2008-07-20T22:10:00.003-06:00

This past weekend, I went up to Tofte, MN on the north shore with five of my best friends from Olaf. I'm sure I'll post some pictures soon.

The lake was beautiful, the hikes were impressive, and we had a lot of great laughs.

I was reminded again this weekend that I am lucky, in so many areas of my life, to know firsthand how old friends are good for the soul. It's reassuring to know that who you were isn't so different from who you are, and that sometimes, picking up where you left off is the most comforting thing in the world.

This is what I call a 2 for 1

2008-07-17T22:40:00.002-06:00

Happy birthday to my baby brother:

He turns 23 tomorrow and leaves for med school in less than a month. Apparently not so baby anymore.

(Let this also serve as evidence that, in fact, the entire family has pretty well lost it over Ellen. I'm not the only one, folks.)

Happy birthday, Mek. Live it up.

She may not be walking, but she sure is swimming

2008-07-17T22:37:00.002-06:00

I'm thinking this is a bad sign

2008-07-14T15:40:00.002-06:00

I dreamt last night that I was in jail at the high school. As in, locked up, held against my will, and wistfully wishing for freedom. My AP was the warden who, while feeling sorry for me, refused to set me free.

Hmmm.

It's been a long time

2008-07-13T20:27:00.002-06:00

A lot has happened since my last blog post. I turned 26, got engaged, thought about quitting teaching, went to Arizona with Jim and the girls, thought about applying for teaching jobs in Arizona, moved Jim and the girls into my house, started planning a wedding, reminded myself that teaching's a damn good gig in June/July/August, picked up golfing, reminded myself that last summer I "picked up tennis," and read a couple of good books.

The truth, dear reader, is that I have no good excuse for not blogging in so long. But I've missed you. And I'm back. And I promise to be better.

xoxo
Rach

The kid has sunglasses, in case you were wondering

2008-04-22T20:49:00.002-06:00

Also...

2008-04-16T18:55:00.000-06:00

I have a very, very big soft spot for Simon Cowell.

Dear Michael Johns

2008-04-16T18:19:00.003-06:00

I was just thinking that it's a grave injustice that you were voted off American Idol so soon. You were lightyears better than many of the remaining contestants, and while I never loved you, you didn't make me mad, either.

In an attempt to post something on my blog that has nothing to do with how terrible work is lately or how great my little niece is, I'm dedicating this one to you.

Love,
Rachel

Random web surfing during the MCA

2008-04-16T18:03:00.003-06:00

Random web surfing led to this little tidbit today. I will not admit to the exact google search that led to that article, but it did include the words "hate" and "job."

I believe the children are our future

2008-04-07T12:21:00.002-06:00

What I learned from my students today:

Hooking up with fewer than three girls over break is a "poor showing."
A "leaner" is a fun-filled oft-used prank that involves leaning buckets of water against hotel room doors in a precarious manner, leading to the spilling of large amounts of water into the hotel room upon opening the door.
Leaners are "okay" since the maids "just clean it up anyway. I mean, that's their JOB."
"Good, clean fun" is defined as drinking heavily, but not so heavily that you have a hangover the next day.
A number of pubic speakers drank and toasted "in honor" of me during their trips. Yes, what an honor, indeed.
Another "fun thing to do" is to go up to a cute girl, pretend to be nervous, and pee in your swimming suit in front of her to see how she'll react.
Under no circumstances will a child of mine ever, in a million years, attend a high school spring break "senior trip."

The Prediction

2008-04-02T20:23:00.002-06:00

American Idol Top 5 (in no particular order):

David C.

Carly

Brooke

David A.

Michael

I'm not sure what I get if I'm right, but I'll be sure to think of something.

"Sit down and try to act like human beings"

2008-03-22T22:14:00.003-06:00

While the kids were preparing for their Good Friday Dance (what better way to celebrate the death of Christ?), we enjoyed some quality staff development. My CoP watched the documentary Two Million Minutes which highlights the high school experiences of two American students, two Indian students, and two Chinese students. The differences are shocking, glaring, and frankly, pretty damn depressing. I'm still having visions of those Chinese students bowing to their teacher at the beginning of the day...

Anyway, you should check out the trailer. If you're interested, you should netflix the film. And if you have kids, you should--apparently--move to India or China to educate them.

I won't lie, school could be going better

2008-03-19T22:23:00.002-06:00

Claire: Ms. T, number 9 is a stupid question.

Me (glancing down at quiz question 9): True or false, the cyclops embodies the Greek value of hospitality.

Claire: He DOES, I SWEAR he does!

Me: Claire, he EATS Odysseus's men. He smashes them together "like pups," eats their insides, and throws them up when he's had too much wine. This is not the picture of hospitality.

Claire: But sparknotes SAYS he's hospitable!

Me: (rapid blinking)

The things that keep you going

2008-03-15T12:30:00.003-06:00

I know that ever since the birth of my niece, this blog has turned into one big Ellen-fest. But come on. That's one cute kid, no?

A Rude Awakening

2008-03-03T13:26:00.003-06:00

This afternoon in Art of Film, I introduced our first western film, John Ford's classic My Darling Clementine. I discussed the different stages of genre development, a few of the students talked about the elements of a classic western, and we discussed a few things to watch for in the viewing of the film. As I was passing out the viewing guides, I felt pretty good, actually, about our little introductory discussion.

That feeling ended abruptly with this:

Girl in second row: "I don't understand why we have to watch OLD movies."

Boy throwing pencil at her: "I don't understand why you talk. Ever."

It's so good to be back.

Delight

2008-03-01T00:07:00.002-06:00

Last night we left this:

for this:

Things could not be better.

I'd like to thank the Academy

2008-02-24T14:12:00.002-06:00

For giving me a perfectly good reason to avoid the piles of papers that I need to grade, despite the fact that midterm grades are due on Wednesday.

Cheers! (And a gratuitous picture of Ellen.)

Updates

2008-02-22T18:16:00.002-06:00

The Severe Strep Throat Feared to be Mono has cleared up nicely. I've encouraged the two students who have come down with strep this week to call their plastic surgeon dads for a good prescription. Do as I do, kids.
High school boy who finally fessed up to hitting my car has fessed up to his parents, who have agreed to cut me a check for the damage to my car. This is good news.
In six days, Jim and I will be leaving for Arizona. Next weekend's forecast for Phoenix is 74 degrees and sunny, 73 degrees and sunny, and 75 degrees and sunny, respectively. I. Can't. Wait.

Yoga

2008-02-20T17:55:00.002-06:00

KC's been encouraging me to start yoga for awhile now. I smile, nod, agree that I should probably start that or therapy, and then one of us changes the subject.

This afternoon the topic came up again, right before she and Sarah demonstrated some yoga positions (poses? What do you call them?) right in my classroom.

While singing the praises of her yoga class, KC said, "Really, Rach, you should do it. Your biggest problem is going to be shutting off the ongoing chatter in your mind, but other than that, you'll be fine."

Uh-huh.

And now, I'd like you all to imagine me in these positions and then decide if the admittedly nonstop chatter in my mind will be my "biggest" problem with yoga. Something tells me it will be the actual stretching and physical exertion that will be my largest challenge with yoga. I mean, LOOK at those people!

My sole European Reader

2008-02-18T22:07:00.002-06:00

Dear Reader,

You are the only red dot across the Atlantic on my clustr map, and you give me serious bragging rights in the readership of my blog.

Kate T--it's got to be you, right?

xoxo,
Rachel

The Confession

2008-02-18T22:02:00.003-06:00

A (boy)friend of the high school neighbor girl has confessed (under some duress) to hitting my car. Rich spoke with the young man today who promises to call us back with insurance info once he fesses up to his parents tonight.

Frankly, I can't believe the little culprit fessed up at all. I thought for sure this was going to go on the increasingly long list of unsolved mysteries with my car.

In other news, my Tivo just started acting up. For a machine that I've had nearly a year, the "Welcome, Powering Up!" screen that won't go away seems problematic.

The hits just keep on coming, people.

I've honest to God lost count

2008-02-17T21:09:00.003-06:00

Tonight while I was having dinner at Mom's, someone hit my car. My PARKED car.

I'm not entirely sure because I've honest to God lost count at this point, but I think that makes FIVE total times that my car has been hit while freaking PARKED.

Number of accidents while the car was moving or even in gear? Zero.

And that, people, is how you know the gods just are NOT on your side.

Not my best week

2008-02-15T12:29:00.005-06:00

On Monday, Jim and I babysat Ellen for a couple of hours. Ellen was less than thrilled to see her auntie:

She was, however, perfectly content as soon as Jim picked her up:

Tuesday morning I started to feel "a cold" coming on. By Tuesday night I was downright sick. Wednesday I was sick enough to call my dad to see if he'd call in a prescription of antibiotics for me. Thursday I nearly didn't make it through the school day. I thought it'd be a good idea for KC to look down my searingly sore throat with the school provided flashlight (for use in emergency lock down procedures), but that didn't turn out so well. Kace was so disgusted by what she saw down there that she referred to me as "Sickie" the rest of the day. I finally gave in and stayed home today, but I am now thoroughly convinced that this cold turned strep throat is now officially mono. I'd publish a photo of my nasty tonsils but you'd shriek in terror and never return to my blog again.

On a happy note, Jim has been a very good sport:

I'll let you know how the mono spot comes out.

I've brought back the photo slideshow. Just FYI.

2008-02-07T22:13:00.000-06:00

Babysitting is my new favorite pastime

2008-02-03T14:37:00.000-06:00

Ending on a good note

2008-01-25T18:30:00.000-06:00

To be frank, it's been a hell of a week. Things have been so terrible at work that Teaching Pal Jackie has started a one-woman-crusade to prevent me from leaving the teaching profession. I think it was the research papers that put me over the edge, and it's possible that some sort of seasonal affective thing is going on, but God. I thought for sure I would lose it when the mouse reappeared in my classroom and was scurrying around near my feet. I just don't get paid enough to deal with rodents on a daily basis. I'm not entirely convinced that I get paid enough to deal with sophomores on a daily basis, either, but at least they walk upright.

I'm happy the day, the week, and the semester are over.

I stayed late at school today (breaking Jackie's rule number 1 for Teaching Survival which is leaving the building when the sun is still out) to try to get a handle on semester grades. Here's the good thing that came out of that:

In the middle of a bunch of late work handed in from the pubic speakers, I found a rough draft of a speech from a girl in my first hour class. She moved to the United States from Kenya five years ago after her father died, and she is one of those genuinely sweet ESL students who you can't help but love and root for. The pubic speakers have to give a tribute speech as their final exam. Rest assured, none of the speakers delivered their tribute in honor of me, but Amina did write this:

"Because of these people I am able to love others, myself and believe in myself, push myself to do things that I don't want to do. I want to recognize them for all they have done for me and how they have helped me. The wonderful persons that I am talking about are my teachers. They made me believe that I have the ability to attain whatever I seek and I am truly humbled and blessed to have them in my life. God bless them all."

So sweet, right? So I started to think that maybe I didn't hate my job all THAT much, when I was interrupted by a kid barging into my classroom saying,

"Ms. Tholen, can a teacher call me a retard?"

"Yes. Who called you a retard?"

And that, friends, is how teaching goes. Just when you think you're getting somewhere, you come crashing back down to your rodent-infested reality.

Next week will be better.