Saturday, January 26, 2008

This Is Too Much For Me

This fall, I completed my collection of the Seinfeld series. Season 9 came out on DVD and all the episodes are now in my possession. Today, I was watching Jerry Seinfeld on "Charlie Rose" and I found out about this. The complete series, in one box. I'm not sure why I would need this, but something in me wants to have it. My concern is that there are bonus features in this package that I don't have with seasons 1-9. The obsession continues...

Friday, January 25, 2008

What Am I Supposed To Do With This?


Am I on candid camera?

I Just Couldn't Take It Anymore


Here's the piano at school. During this intersession, the kids seem to think that old school rules don't apply. Not true kids! They have been playing the piano every chance they get and it's either not good or the same two songs over and over. I was going crazy, so I said to someone at lunch, "I want to duct tape that piano shut!" He said, "let's do it!" We didn't have duct tape, so we used packing tape. I feel sort of bad, but I feel sort of better.

Mysterious Tote Bags

Today, I received two hemp tote bags from ecolution.com. I have no idea where they came from. What's weird is that there's no packing slip and it was sent to my address but Apt B. Where's apartment B in my house? I'm so confused. Who sent this?

Thursday, January 24, 2008

In My Ears

I've been in mix-making mode for a few months now. I'm never sure if the recipients really like what I've created, but at least I do. Somehow, despite feeling so busy, I'm finding new music and also rediscovering music that I haven't listened to in a while. So, I thought I'd review some things. Not much detail, just a thumb's up from me.

"Look at Miss Ohio" by Gillian Welch from Soul Journey. Awesome song, awesome name for a CD. I was obsessed with this song back in Jan 2004 and it still makes me stop and listen. The whole album is quite impressive as well.

The Great Lake Swimmers and their CD Ongiara. I love "Your Rocky Spine," "Changing Colours," and "Where In The World Are You," but honestly the whole album is great.

A friend gave me a bunch of Lucinda Williams tunes. Among them, "West" and "Are You Alright?" are my current favorites.

"What Light" from Wilco's Sky Blue Sky. I actually haven't listened to the rest of the album, despite buying it as soon as it came out, but this song has been on repeat for a few days.

"Like U Crazy" from Mates of State, a married couple who performed this song when I saw them on the This American Life tour.

"I Was Born On A Train" by The Magnetic Fields. Another song that's been in my collection for many years, but always resurfaces.

Sweet Poster


Becky Redman is the artist...a British lady. You can get it from the Design Museum Shop (somewhere in her homeland) for $50 US. I'm debating it...

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Why I Heart the Y

I took a four week hiatus from the YMCA (two weeks at home then the cleanse). I went back this week, very happily, and most every person I saw was saying things like, "It's great to see you again," "Welcome back," "We missed you," "We're happy to have you back." What a great place?

In other news, we have new spinning bikes! They are pretty. I'm not sure how I feel about them. You can't adjust the handlebars in or out (just up or down), but they look snazzy and the sound so nice when you spin. Everyone was pretty amped this morning, singing Michael Jackson and requesting longer rest times. You know, the usual.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

This Website Told Me Which Candidate I Like

This is Hahvahd's Implicit Associations Test. I did the political primary test and it was pretty accurate in assessing my feelings about the candidates. Try it.

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Click on "Demonstration", then "Go To Demonstration Tests", "I Wish to Proceed", and finally you come to the page where you can click on any number of tests.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Demoralizing

TODAY:


THIS WEEK:

If this was summer camp, I'd be anticipating card games, board games, and puzzles all week.

I Went To The Woods Because I Wished To Live Life


Here comes a doozy! If you've read my blog in the last few months, you might remember that I was at Yosemite in November with Patagonia Boy. He made me promise that I'd go back. Being someone who likes being in the outdoors, he didn't have to twist my arm. At the beginning of January, I bought a National Parks Pass that gives me free entry into places like Yosemite. If I go four times in the next year, it makes financial sense. I bought the pass to motivate me to get out there.

I set my alarm for 5am on Saturday, but woke up at 4...I guess I was excited. I'm one of those people that just likes to get up earlier than later, so if I wake up before my alarm, nine times out of ten, I just get up. The first picture here is of El Capitan at about 8:30 am. I took this picture just after seeing two coyotes just strolling down the road like it was normal. When I got to the park, it was dead quiet. As you can see, no one was on this road. When I was in the same spot on Thanksgiving weekend, this place was loaded with "gapers." It was nice to be there by myself and seeing the sun come up on a perfectly clear day.


From there, I made my way to Badger Pass Ski Area where you can do all the snow sports your little heart desires (or at least my little heart). They have downhill skiing, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. I had decided to go snowshoeing on this fine day. I got these snowshoes in the winter of 2003-4 and it remains one of my most favorite purchases. I bought a map of the trails and set off. In the winter, the road to Glacier Point is closed and left to fill with snow. They groom the snow so that it's nice a smooth and they put down two classic cross country tracks. I got a recommendation to take a trail off the road to Dewey Point, which overlooks El Capitan.



As I set off on Glacier Point Road, here's who was heading out with me. Pretty much everyone on skis said something like, "You're smart" or "Wish I was doing that." It's funny how some people do things that they aren't totally pumped about. Snowshoeing just like like walking, only a little more awkward than normal, so it easy for anyone. I got to Dewey Point in a little more than an hour and got this view. On the left is El Cap, but funny how it doesn't look the same.


Pretty magical. There were quite a few skiers and snowshoers on the trail. When I got back to Glacier Point Road, it was packed! I probably saw a hundred people in the span of five minutes, many of them with big packs and some of them with sleds attached to their waists with lots of stuff. Totally awesome! There's a hut at the end of the road, 10.5 miles out, where you can stay overnight and get hot meals. I'd love to do that trip some weekend. I got back to the car after about three hours out in the snow and was pooped. I decided to head back to Yosemite Valley and settle into my cold accommodations. I got a hot lunch, wrote some cards, read, and generally tried to say warm. For some reason, my Gore-Tex trail shoes got soaked, so I was pretty chilly. I spent some time in Yosemite Village where there is a large store, post office, Ansel Adams gallery, and more. On Saturday afternoon, there was also a family of deer just hanging out in the middle of the action eating some chestnuts. Here's the view of Half Dome as the sun sets.


As I went to sleep in my unheated cabin, I was already feeling nervous about waking up and putting on cold clothes. So, I had an idea! I would put all the clothes I needed to put on the next morning in my sleeping bag with me to keep them nice and toasty. It worked like a charm! Here's the view of Half Dome from Curry Village, Sunday morning.


On Sunday, I woke early and bundled up. The plan for the day was to rent cross country skis and see what happened. I got back to the ski area right as they opened and was on the trail in no time. I thought I would take a lesson, but the Girl Scouts were monopolizing them, so I just went out. I was encouraged by a sign in the rental shop that read, "Anyone can walk on skis." Cool! I can walk so I had a bit more confidence. It was a bit colder and there were a few more clouds in the sky than the day before, but I was warm in no time. A few things to point out: exercise-induced asthma makes it hard to breathe. Exercising at altitude also makes it hard to breathe. So, in short, it was hard for me to breathe. In that way, it felt like swimming. I did a few strokes, but it was hard, so then I'd have to walk a bit. I also have no idea how to stop myself on these things. So, when a downhill came, gravity was my guide. So that was exciting.

Here's what I saw for a good two miles. Constant uphill. After about an hour of it, my shoulders were tired from my backpack and using the poles nonstop, so I decided to turn around. There were reports of 20% chance of snow in the evening, and I didn't want to deal with that, so after about five and a half miles, I felt like it was time to turn around. On my way out, I saw about half a dozen people coming down, many with their big packs. When I did turn around, there were about three cute boys in a row, all alone like me. The first guy asked if I knew how to stop. I was glad to know there were other rookies out there and told him that falling was my only strategy so far. I did make sure I got the view of the Clark Range before I turned around. Here it is for you mom:


What is so amazing about this place is that I feel like I could keep going back for years and find something new to explore. I hope to get back in the next few months and ski to the hut at Glacier Point for a night. I was very lucky this fall to have someone to adventure with, but I have spent most of the past two years adventuring solo and I'm back to that mode. It can be frustrating at times. I don't get to many restaurants or movies or concerts, but I've come to a point where there are things I want to do and I don't think I can put those things off just because there's no one to be with me. I say this to justify the fact that I went into the woods alone. To ease the fears of my parents, I did it as smart as you can. I wrote a detailed itinerary for Bec with phone numbers and let her know I was safe at the end of each day. I also chose routes that were very popular, were within my comfort zone, and would keep me out only a few hours so I wouldn't run into daylight issues, and I paid attention to the weather. And it was great fun! Here's the last picture of the trip, the sun forcing its way through the clouds.


Grafting Trees


I wish I could wax poetic about this picture. This is near Manteca, CA, where you will find miles and miles of nut and fruit trees (I'm assuming based on the very organized planting, but it is "winter" here too, so no leaves). A few years ago I read "The Botany of Desire," another one by Michael Pollan, and he writes a lot about apples. I have no idea where my copy of the book is, so I can't remember exactly what he wrote, but it was the first time I heard about grafting trees. Apples are heterozygous (do I have that right). That is, that if you plant a few apple seeds from the same Granny Smith apple, you will not get a Granny Smith apple tree from any of them, and each will produce a tree with different tasting apples. I found this simplified explanation of grafting on a website: Insert a small twig cut from one fruit tree into a cut in another, compatible fruit tree. If you've placed the grafts correctly, the twig will soon start to grow on the host tree and eventually produce fruit. Easy, right?

Anyway, when reading about grafting, I had no concept of what this could be. It just didn't make sense to me. So, imagine my excitement on Sunday, when I was driving on Rte. 120 and saw grafted trees like I've never seen before. Not that I understand it now, but at least I have a picture in my head. I also think this is nature being really cute...two trees working together to make edible fruit for us. Thanks trees!

Editor's Note: I've decided to spell grafting like it should be spelled and not like a math concept.

The Kids Love Their Physics!



Sorry for the delay in posting these. Here are some shots from December when my students made Rube Goldberg machines. They totally love physics because they get to do things like this every once in a while. I liked the machine in the first picture because it recycled a piece of paper in the recycle bin. Perfect!

I was reminded of this project on Saturday when I listened to my favorite "This American Life" episode: 20 Acts in 60 Minutes. Ira Glass tells a story of the Chicago Vienna Sausage Company...the original facility was a bunch of buildings that were bought over time and "put together in a Rube Goldberg kind of arrangement." I love that my students would understand that reference. Except maybe on of them who thinks it's a Rude Goldberg machine. Oh well.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Mole-skeen

Apparently, I reference my Moleskin by its brand name quite a bit. Most people might say, "let me write that down." I say, "let me write that down in my Moleskine." Anyway, my Moleskine is one things that I have with me at all times (except I don't always bring it into school). But it's always in my purse, when I go hiking, or when I used to go on big walks through Boston. It's go everything in it...addresses, grocery lists, books and CDs I want, notes from lectures I've attended, trip notes, "diary entries" and on and on. It's basically a chronological catalogue of my life. I need a new one, which I will get tomorrow. I'm going to get two so I have "an heir and a spare" as mom would say.

What's funny about these notebooks is how particular people are about them. I have many friends who have them. Two friends of mine prefer the graph paper notebook. I prefer lined notebooks--a small one for everyday stuff and a larger one for my running log. Another friend also has a few going at once--vocabulary, quotes, workouts, and his everyday one apparently has a few blank pages at the front so he can index it. Genius! I am also very particular about writing in it. While I'll write anything, but it must be in black rollerball pen. I don't use pencil. I don't use ballpoint. And I don't use blue. Some of you are unsurprised, I'm sure, to know that I have clear rules about these things.

I've just learned about the City Moleskine. They have them for a few cities, including NYC, Boston, and SF and it's basically a way to organize information you gather about that city. It has maps, tabs, removable pages, sticky notes. I have to see this first hand because I'm in shock right now. It makes me want to live in one of these cities. I'm dreaming of being at the 2012 Olympics in London with one of these notebooks, documenting everything!

Other things in my purse at all times:
Headlamp (needs new batteries or a new bulb or something)
Water bottle (Kleen Kanteen...which I have yet to rant about)
A book (currently On The Road and Straight Man...trying to decide)
coupon file
iPod
GPS (new addition, which comes in handy when wandering around an unfamiliar city)
mobile phone
keys
stationery and stamps (most of the time...I don't always replenish my stash in a timely manner)

365 Days!


I've had this sticker for about three years and the date has always seemed so far away. Some of you may be feeling that it's still very far away, but I'm feeling optimistic today. I get to vote in two weeks and I couldn't be more excited about it.

By the way, I learned about this sticker while driving on Huron Street in Cambridge. It was a cold winter night in 2006 and all I could read on the bumper of the car in front of me was 01.20.09 but the words were too small for my eyes. I was driving, so I couldn't write it in my Moleskine, therefore my strategy was to keep saying the date out loud for the ten minutes until I got to my computer. I went straight to Google and found the first political bumper sticker I've ever purchased and put on my car! Actually, I bought the magnet so I don't turn into one of those people with a Dukakis '88 sticker on their Volvo for 20 years.

Think Blue!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

If You Were Intimidated in 2001...


I now have one of these...it's a camelbak in neoprene for winter use. When I was a senior in college, I would keep my camelbak in my backpack and walk around with it during pre-season. Some people were intimidated...I won't name names.

Why I Love Patagonia, Part 1

Okay, obviously Patagonia Boy was found there, but I've loved Patagonia deeply since 2003. Here's my latest reason: they have a feature on their website called "The Footprint Chronicles." When you are looking at a product (not sure if it's for all), you can click on the Footprint Chronicles and they will tell you why this product is environmentally good, bad, and how they feel about it. For example, I'm buying a wool baselayer. The footprint for this is that the wool comes from well run ranches, the dying factory does not use heavy metals, the shirt is sewn domestically, but the wool travels from New Zealand. The company is very honest about the fact that while they are making many right choices when making this product, the environmental cost of getting wool from 16,000 miles away is huge.

This is just one of the reasons why I love this company. People will complain about expense, but any time we spend money, it's like we're making our vote for what we believe in. So, I'm going to keep spending money at Patagonia and Whole Foods because I think they are doing the best they can for the environment in their market. I believe that one of the things we can do if we want change is to be clear about the change we want.

The Downside of a 10 Minute Commute

I've been trying to discipline myself to listen to NPR on my commute to school. Truth be told, I'm just not crazy about KQED. There's something about it that doesn't measure up to WBUR. I'm probably just having some separation issues. Anyway, I'm trying to listen so that I have more of a clue about the world (I have only about 19 days until I have to vote).

This was what I heard today: traffic report, approximately 7 minutes of talk about why I should give them money, and another traffic report. The pledge drive just started...maybe this was a bad time to try to get back on the horse.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

What Would Michael Pollan Say?

I am reading "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan. He talks a lot about the history of nutritionism in our country (people telling us what to eat) and makes his case for what we should be eating.

As part of my daily routine, I check the A's website every morning to see when opening day tickets (against the Red Sox) will go on sale. Today, I ran across "All You Can Eat Seating." This is straight from the A's website:

"Hungry fans may purchase a $35 game ticket for unlimited All-You-Can-Eat items. These items include hot dogs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn, soda and ice cream. Sections 316, 317 and 318 are available to fans on an individual game, group ticket and season ticket basis. All-You-Can-Eat items are available when the gates open through the end of the 7th inning."

Sometimes I just don't even know what to say. I'll start with: are they at least all-beef hot dogs?

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Yikes!


These bikes are beautiful...the kind of bikes that you might have trouble riding outside because they will get dirty. Apparently the company, Vanilla Bicycles, has a five year waiting list. You have to put down $500 just to start talking with them (five years in advance of getting it). It's totally custom, totally a lot of dollars...and totally pretty.

Okay, tomorrow I'm going to start trying to commute to work on my bike (on a bike that is nowhere close to being considered a commuter bike...it's just the only one I've got). I'm not sure how I will pull it off after the cleanse because I'll get back to going to the gym in the morning on Wednesday or Thursday. I may only be able to pull off cycling this month, when I don't really care if I'm a bit sweaty or in jeans every day for professional development. We'll see. I have to think about how that would work. I need a trailer! And a dog, but that's totally unrelated.

What's the Opposite of Jean Therapy

Today I set out to find a new pair of jeans. I have a nice pair that I really like, but I only have the one pair that I like to wear. That's not enough in a month when you wear jeans every day. And let's compare to some people reading this blog who have dozens of jeans (or at least half a dozen).

Anyway, I'm never able to find a good pair of jeans. So Bec and I went to Union Street in SF to try to get it done. No luck! I found some jeans that were half good (like the legs were good but the rise was too low or the rise was good but the length was wrong...we were close). Most jeans nowadays just don't come up high enough on my body. I'm tall...the parts of my body are just more spread out than the average person, so a jean that comes to a reasonable place on a normal person's body barely gets above my underwear if at all. And other than every person working in the stores trying to put me in a waist size one inch too small, it was fun to try on some cute jeans. One guy said (now imagine a guy named Guy with an Israeli accent), "I know you're looking for something you could wear to school, but when you're ready for something sexy to go out in, come see me. I'll take care of you."

Day 8 of the cleanse is done and it's "too easy" as I used to say. Only two days left. My tongue is gross and scuzzy and my teeth never feel clean, but I'm sure my colon is just singing its praises.

And did you know that the word "mora" (however spelled) means teacher in Hebrew. I did know this at some point, but forgot. I'm glad Guy reminded me.

Summertime!

It's amazing how early teachers start thinking about summer. I'm doing it now and having the opportunity for something different in the summer is one of the cooler things about being a teacher. You get two months every year to re-invent yourself every year, if you want. In the past, I've done camp, I've taken a hard-core math course at BU and rode and rowed like crazy, and last year I traveled quite a bit and moved across the country. It's always been two months of cool stuff.

So, what to do this year? I've thought about spending in it New England and getting my fix of fun and friends. I also might have the opportunity to go to Central America for a few weeks with some students. I'm also craving a hard-core road trip to see more of this country--hike some more 14,000 foot peaks in Colorado, get to the Badlands, and experience the small towns of the West. There's a long list of people I want some time with, so regardless, I think it will be jam packed. I think most of you know how much I love teaching and I am so appreciative to have the summer break to refresh and get excited about the next year with the kids. I'll keep you posted.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Do Not Call List

REMINDER...all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies tomorrow and you will start to receive sales calls. You will be charged for these calls. To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222

It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number for five (5) years. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Netflix Suggestions

I think you can connect with friends over Netflix to see what your friends are watching and what they liked. If you want to connect with me click here. A caution: I like movies that don't require too much intellectual investment, so that's what you'll see.

In other news, day 5 of the cleanse is fine. I'm getting a bit bored so I doubt I can go past 10 days but it's amazing how quickly the days have passed by. Also amazing is that I'm almost a quarter through my school's intersession. Okay...off to pee for about the 10th time today.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Wednesdays in January

So, while most students are not in academic classes, there are some who will be. At my school, kids can't get F's and stay at the school (an F is 69 or below). They also can't miss any homework or other assignments So, any kids who are failing a course or who have failed a mastery assessment during the semester or owe work come to afternoon sessions during January to try to meet the standards. So, never fear, the kids who need it are getting math once a week for two hours. I spent all yesterday making folders for each kid and planning my lessons. I'm excited for the opportunity to work with these kids.

We have a brief break right now and we spent the morning thinking about the big ideas of Ted Sizer, Linda Darling-Hammond, and Bill Gates, three big players in the small school/school redesign movement (Bill mostly for his money). So, we looked at their principles and thought about them in the context of our school and also where we are now and where we want to go. Awesome!

Day 4 of the cleanse is going well. Subsisting on only liquid is not that exciting and I'll look forward to when it's over in a week, but I'm feeling great. Unfortunately, I have gone to bed late the past two nights, which does not mesh well with having to get up two or three times a night to go to the bathroom. If I had more sleep under my belt, I think I would feel even better. I'm just tired. I think the worst part of the cleanse is definitely forcing myself to drink salt water in the morning (I just don't like it). Well, that and waking up a few times during the night. But, other than that, it's going well. I'm supposed to do this for 10 days, which I know I can do. The questions now are: do I do it longer and what am I going to eat after it's over. The originator of the cleanse is all about no meat and no dairy. Obvi, I don't eat those together, but I'm not sure I can give up those foods together.

Back to work!

More Signs...

The apocalypse must be coming. This is from the Apple website...

H2O Audio Waterproof Armor Series Case for 3rd Generation iPod nano


Enjoy submersing yourself in sound with the H2O Audio, while still maintaining complete control over your iPod nano.

Who are these people who can't go swimming unless they have an ipod? Doesn't that seem unnatural and probably something that would win you a Darwin award.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Overflow

This was to be my recap of the Everest hearing.  I got pretty far with this, but I started this on Dec 9, 2008 right before school.  That's never a good idea when you have a lot to say.  Oh well...it's long gone now.

The room was filled with our students, faculty, and parents.  The overflow room was the same.  Yes, there were many people who opposed, but I think we represented about 2/3 of the crowd.  I was in the overflow room, so I didn't get to see anything.  I kind of liked being in that room as it was like listening to the radio.  Of course, a few of us wished we had our grading with us since we were in the "other" room and none of the big guns could see us.

The argument against us is such: the district does not want us because we will take money from their schools and potentially reduce their programs.  There are some interesting facts here.  While our school spends more than 80% on classroom instruction, the district schools spend only 50%.  While the district gets over $9000 per pupil, they pass only $6800 along to us when we get our students.  Surely they can do as we do...revisit the budget every year to determine how to best allocate funds under new circumstances.  And maybe it's time that they put more than 50% into the classroom.  I do understand.  If we have more students, they might not be able to have home ec or photography.  However, it is against charter law to deny a petition based on the budget.  I'll come back to this.

That really was the main talking point against us.  Sure, some opposing parents got up (and one student...from about 8000 kids)

Day 3 of Detox

Started the day with traffic court (after the salt water flush of course). I got my first ticket for going right on red when I wasn't supposed too. Boo! Apparently there were three signs and cops sitting right there. I was distracted because I was going to run the route later and wanted to see if there were sidewalks the whole way. So, I got a ticket, decided to go to court...pled guilty and got the ticket reduced by about $65. Not too bad. I still have to go to traffic school. There are so many to choose from including: Traffic School With Interactive Games, Happy Traffic School, Comedy Traffic School.com, Fun 4U-Fast 2 (I guess that's a traffic school), California Jammin Traffic School, Lettuce Amuse U Comedy Schools Inc, Comedy For Less Traffic School, Pizza 4U - Great Comedians (again...this is a traffic school?). Anyway, I'll try to knock that out this week. I think I'll choose the one that's only $15.

Day 3 of the detox is going okay. It's a gray day here...and that always puts my brain in a fog. So, I have a headache and backache. I'm not sure what's associated with the cleanse. I think the backache is from a night of not so great sleep. There's just a lot in my brain. I've been pounding the lemonade though...it's growing on me.

School is fun right now. We are in intersession. For the kids that means that they are taking their electives (musical theater, SAT prep, Art, Guitar, Photography, etc.). For the teachers intersession means that we're doing lots of professional development. Four weeks of it! So far we just have two days of grading our finals and we'll start the good stuff tomorrow. The cool part is that it's all planned and run by the faculty. I wasn't involved in the planning this year, as I kind of felt like there was a lot on my plate, but I'm sure I will be involved in the future. As I sit in my office, I can hear All That Jazz and Rapper's Delight playing and can see kids dancing and clapping...the makings of a good musical I'm sure. So, it's a bit noisier than usual around here, but it's cool to see the kids having a good time.

That's the scoop for now.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Crazy News

Trash in Naples...they are just out of room!

Do you think she was a Bridezilla?

Signs of the Apocalypse I'm sure.

Feel The Noise

I've got the Bose Sound Dock rockin'! It's pretty great. I'd have a party if I didn't live in suburbia/familyville.

Day 2 of The Cleanse went very smoothly. I backed off just a bit on the cayenne and the drink was much more appealing. When people brought their lunched into the faculty room, it didn't even bother me. I just didn't crave the food and went for a walk instead. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Facebook is crazy. I should put a timer on that website. Right now, I'm just trying to keep up with all the contact I've been getting...lots of blasts from the past and my students are too pumped that I finally did it.

And I heard from a certain former boyfriend. The de-tox is doing crazy things to my life I guess.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

New Year!

Yikes! When I don't have pictures to post, I don't get around to blogging as much. I should have taken a picture of the New Year's Day snowstorm in Mass. It was beautiful. Being back in New England for two weeks was great! As great as California is, I'm not sure it beats NE in my book. I was in five states over the course of my time there...

News:
I've joined Facebook. I can't say I know why I did it. My former students have been trying to get my on there for years. Now that I'm on...I'm not sure how I feel about it. I can't figure out how to do most things on it. I guess I'm old.

I've started a cleanse as a New Year's thing to do. Today was day 1 of laxative teac, salt water flushing, and a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup, water, and cayenne. It was a bit rough...headachey during the day. Probably because the taste of the cayenne is not that appetizing so I have to force myself to drink and I'm behind in my ounces. Anyway, I'm pretty psyched about the prospect of detox-ing right now.

I'm on the other side of the country from the boy I'd like to spend more time with. Bummer. Not sure what's going to happen there. I'd like to say I'm optimistic, but I'm not sure I can.

Saw Juno and really liked it.

Enjoy 2008!