Change in '08

All:


Many of my friends and family members will likely seem skeptical of my recent decision to designate Barack Obama as my 2008 Presidential Candidate of choice. This is probably due in part to the generalized location of many of my close friends and relatives.


Know that I do not need to relate to you the reasons why I've chosen to support Obama; many of you do not feel the same way as I do, and I cannot expect and desire that you do so. However, I am taking this time to urge each of you to look beyond what your typical socioeconomic and geographic swaying will have you to believe and do your own research on the candidates of choice. Look deep within yourselves, examine your own beliefs, and then make the decision that is best suited to your own personal American ideals.


I, for one, have been quite skeptical of even endorsing the candidacy of anyone this year, or any year for that matter. I struggled with the country's "ideas" of democracy, looking at it in terms of electoral college votes and not my-vote-that-can-make-a-difference. I realized that it would not matter if my one vote makes a difference or not; what matters is that I stood up for what I believed in based upon the candidate whom parallels my beliefs the most.


And this is precisely why I have chosen to support wholeheartedly Barack Obama for President (2008). May you all find clarity in your decisions---I repeat, in YOUR decisions. Go against the flow. God bless.


--me



P.S. For those pseudo-religious-fundamentalists, you may find the following link worthwhile. It's Barack Obama's speech on his religious beliefs and how it relates to the pluralistic society in which we live. http://www.barackobama.com/2006/06/28/call_to_renewal_keynote_address.php

Doctor, doctor--give me the news...

Okay, I admit it: I'm paranoid. Paranoid about driving in the dark and/or rain. Paranoid about falling asleep. Paranoid about getting off a schedule. Paranoid about missing out on something important. Paranoid about meticulous order. Just paranoid. Is that some sort of disease?

No matter how much I maintain my specific schedule as a teacher, there will always be something to throw me off schedule. Always. This, my friends, is something I will never be able to ignore. What throws me off, you may ask? Pep rallies, meetings, off-campus activities, last minute work orders, pictures, classroom discipline, out-of-classroom discipline, running out of paper (and staples, tape, markers, etc.), emergency subbing during my planning because another teacher just didn't show up to freakin' work, parent phone calls, not being able to give grades below a 50 because we can't associate work ethic & effort with grades that are supposed to measure only mastery of materials, parent e-mails, pointless staff e-mails, lunch duty, library being closed, printer not working, computer crashing, paycheck miscalculated, etc.etc.etc.

But you know what makes it all worthwhile? Having students who respect you, and completely get involved with the things you're teaching, and bring you presents for your birthday, and stay after school to just talk, and acknowledge that you have high standards, and encourage others to work diligently, and turn in major assignments on time & nearly perfect, and and and..... :)

Such is my life. The life of an educator. A public school educator.

Rock Me Gently

Ay Caramba (sp?)!

Have I really been gone for nearly two weeks? Crikey. Well, dearest blogspottttter, I can tell you that it's been a necessary break. I had pneumonia and a bacterial infection in my lungs -- I had an extremely swollen face and neck due to all of it. Needless to say, I missed about a week of teaching. But I'm back and betta than eva! :)

I do apologize for leaving you all out! It happens from time to time, so forgive me.

My husband and I have made a huge life decision during my absence. We are going to move out of our current living quarters. Our place is entirely too small (quite clausterphobic, actually) for us to survive. I mean, hell, our kitchen is in our bedroom. Can it get any more cramped than that?

I watched something quite interesting on the telly the other day. "Sex in the Bible" on the History Channel. Watch it sometime--you'll be fascinated (if you're enamored with sexuality like I am [and no, being enamored with sexuality does not mean I am a sex addict!]).

I'm addicted to Puzzle Pirates. You should go join--It's free! :)

Until next time.

Cough-Cough

Been gone.
Been tired.
Been sick.
Been really sick.

Pneumonia.
Enough said...

Blizzard! Yikes! Pow! Bang! Onomatopoeia!!!

Snow all over Georgia! Snow. Snow. SNOW! Being from the Last Frontier (Alaska, for all of those non-geographically-inclined folks), I'm quite comfortable with it. But let it happen in the South and there's grounds for disaster! I had promised my little niece to come down to her birthday party (FIESTA!), but was quite nervous at the thought of driving in the weather. It's not like I could not drive in snow (after all, I've been taught how to drive in these conditions accordingly), but I was scared out of my skivvies at the thought of driving with Georgia's eminent residents.

Here's a recap of the adventure (with pictures):

Walk outside. See snow!

Take mon chien out in le snowww for an adventure. Doggie no likey. Doggie whimpers. Back inside.

Drive down SOUTH. Watch 6 car wrecks occur. See what I mean? One wreck was my favorite: said man drove past me 15 miles ago. Thirty minutes later, I drive by said man standing next to his crumpled 2008 Ford Mustang. He's got his hands on his head and is staring up at the sky. My inner dialogue machine tells me that he must have been saying, "Why God? Why?!" I giggle inside.

Niece's birthday party = FIESTA! Stereotypes are embraced here:

MORE TO COME LATER.

I've always liked conflict. In some ways, I thrive with conflict all around me. My best work is due to conflicts! But conflict, when in the midst of it, pretty much sucks.

Conflict of the Day:
Walk into work. Work turned upside down. Not enough of one thing, too much of the unimportant things. They say that 90% of teaching is improvisation. I improv. Improv is successful. I sigh. End scene...

Meme on Tuesday!

Tuesday Fun? Sure thing! :)

You just put your music player on shuffle, press forward for each question and use the song title as the answer.

1) What does next year have in store for me?
"Ol' Glory"--Psalters (a grunge hard rock spiritual Jesus band)

2) What’s my love life like?
"Come On Home"--Franz Ferdinand (hahaha.... too funny!)

3) What do I say when life gets hard?
"I'm the Slime"--Frank Zappa

4) What do I think of upon waking up?
"Don't Tickle Me"--Dane Cook (comedy sketch)

5) What song will I dance to at my wedding?
"When the Sand Runs Out"--Rascal Flatts (Oh no.....)

6) What do I want as a career?
"Dog Door"--Sparklehorse (what the heck?)

7) My favorite saying?
"Ironic"--Alanis Morisette

8) Favorite place?
"F*** New York, Los Angeles!"--Lewis Black (another comedy sketch, but ironically, it fits!)

9) What do I think of my parents?
"Seven"--Prince (this absolutely makes no sense, but Prince kicks major ass! I'm going to listen to the whole thing now..... "Don't crryyyyy, one day all seven will dieeee.... All seven and we'll watch them fall. They stand in the way of love and we will smoke them all, with their intellect and their savoir faire....I am yours now and you are mine....")

10) What’s my porn star name?
"Maddening Shroud"--Frou Frou (Who the hell wants to be known of as a shroud in bed. Dangit!)

11) Where would I go on a first date?
"Clockwatching"--Jason Mraz (odd...)

12) Drug of choice?
"Whitewash"--Gin Blossoms (Is that what they call crack these days? Sheesh, I'm so behind the times!)

13) Describe myself.
"Friendship Station"--Le Tigre (It's so true. They just flock to me! I love it, though. I wouldn't know what to do without companions!)

14) What is the thing I like doing most?
"Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Spoof"--Beavis and Butthead (Oh man, I miss that show!)

15) What is my state of mind like at the moment?
"The Summer of Protest"--The Dears (One of my absolutely favorite songs, and it honestly fits in with my state of mind!)

16) How will I die?
"So High So Low"--Ben Harper (No, I am NOT on drugs!)