Today was hot for a Seattle May day: we reached 87F! Without air conditioning and with average highs reaching merely into the 60s, we’ve had some unseasonably warm (yet not unwelcome) pre-summer days.

On that note, it makes me not want to work. All I want to do is lie about eating cherries and reading my new books. I’d love to be by a lake with friends or hiking who-knows-where. But I’m working. Besides, we still have almost a month of school left. Seniors only have 2 weeks, so I’m rushing around making sure their grades are in shape and filling out attendance appeal rubrics. Tonight (it’s after midnight now), I have graded portfolios, but not without quality entertainment.

I watched Labyrinth. No, not Pan’s Labyrinth. David Bowie’s Labyrinth, circa 1986.

Sheesh.

I haven’t seen such bad acting and special effects in a long time. The crazy part about it is that the badness is what makes it so good (or at least entertaining).

Well, I’m not really thinking straight, and with many more portfolios to go, I’d best get back to work.

Here are a couple of photos from this year’s prom at the top of the Pike Place Market.

My hair is curled, so it’s really longer than this, but you may notice it’s lighter–I got highlights a couple of months ago.

Weekend Ten

1. If you could fly in a hot air balloon over any city in the world, which city would it be?
Venice or Machu Picchu. I’d rather visit a city, though, by walking around it.

2. Of all your favorite foods, which one would you find the hardest to give up completely for the rest of your life?
Cheese of any variety. Chocolate would be next.

3. What is your favorite musical instrument? What is your least favorite musical instrument?
Favorite–guitar due to versatility, followed by the fiddle or banjo
Least Favorite–um…spoons?

4. Who do you admire and why?
My husband–he’s so sweet to me and does household chores, too! If I know someone as well as I know him and I still admire him, that’s saying something, right?

5. Use 5 words: Describe yourself and be truthful!
Optimistic
Adventurous
Industrious
Curious
Friendly

6. Batman, Superman, Spiderman, or one of the X-Men… or maybe another… Who’s your favorite superhero?

Well, I don’t know if she counts, but I’d have to go with Buffy or any other kick-butt female superhero.

7. Who’s your favorite villain?
right now, the creepy “Other” Ben is intriguing me

8. Which actors are your favorite to watch?

9. What’s the saying you live by?
Do unto others….

10. What’s your best feature?
Physically: my cheekbones and maybe my smile?
Non-physically: I’m pretty patient and easy-going unless I don’t get my way

Summer is my one time to get away. Last summer I definitely did that–I had an excellent summer full of adventure on a 2-week road trip, a week-long workshop near Mt. Rainier, and almost two weeks in Hawaii. This summer does not yet have anticipation built into it, and because of that, I am feeling restless. I’ve had my first taste of summer this weekend, and because I didn’t have many plans Sunday, I got that listless, bored, sleepy feeling that I despise so much. don’t get me wrong–there was plenty I could have done, but I just didn’t feel like it–there was no pressure to do anything by a certain time. All I did was read and nap before my friend’s going-away party.

I can see my summer days becoming like that since I am not in grad school and I have no job or definite plans. This troubles me. I want to be someone who can just wake up and take care of chores around the house, read, tend my garden, visit with friends, and more without feeling like that isn’t enough. What I REALLY want to do this summer is take a cheap, hassle-free trip to a developing country–all arranged by someone else–and explore it while helping other people. I want to go to Costa Rica, Peru, Thailand, Kenya–anywhere where they’ll take me! I need something to wake up for each morning, yet I don’t want to have to wake up early EVERY morning. I also don’t want to necessarily be in Seattle all summer.

Why am I so restless? Why can’t I be content to enjoy Seattle’s excellent, tranquil summers? I know I’m afraid of boredom even though there’s so much to do around here. I want to escape here when the chance arises, because once the school year returns, I am tied down again. Grrr….Any solutions?

So much has been going on since I last posted. I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since I blogged last. Since then, prom has happened (quite well, really) and the seniors presented their senior projects. For those of you who don’t know, these are (sadly) my most stressful school-related activities of the year. Prom is stressful because of money (do we have enough?), ticket sales (have we sold enough?), and dirty dancing (will our dance get shut down?). Speaking of dancing, I have gotten my 15 minutes of fame in this article on freak dancing, of all things.

Senior projects are stressful because we involve the community members as judges of student projects. I have a hard time getting 60 judges organized, in addition to getting the students ready to present. I couldn’t have done it without my coworkers (and my husband) helping with certificates, cleaning up, judging, listening to practice presentations, and picking up food.

In other news, I’ve also:
started a reproduction unit with my bio class
started a poetry unit with my seniors after senior project
hosted a clothes swap party Sunday
admired Justin’s work on our new patio
chaperoned a trip to Eastern Washington to Ellensburg Saturday for a HERO Institute
helped judge M.Ed. students’ culminating portfolio
bought 4 books I will have to wait to read (grrr)
bought Brandi Carlile tickets for June 1 and Bela Fleck tickets for August 1
dealt with allergies/sinus infection
met Cherry Banks at UW Bothell
made a chocolate cake with icing (tonight, while procrastinating)
watched Deja Vu, the season finale of the Office, the latest Lost, and several episodes of 30 days

Here are my plans for this week:
read more NTPOG
actually go to my soccer game
read for fun
grade like the wind!
plant my sprouting carrots, etc. outside (I must post photos of my almost-mature broccoli!)

Less than 25 days of school! w00t!

During babysitting last night, I realized I was getting my Friday Headache (TM) again, so Justin and I went to bed right after we got home. For the first time in a VERY long time, we slept past noon. We slept until 2 p.m. Ridiculous, I know. I could have slept longer, but I felt like I might lose a whole Saturday. After making bacon and homemade waffles, we had a nice (afternoon) breakfast complete with coffee and organic Valencia oranges.

Although there were many things I could have done after breakfast, I wanted to watch the end of The End of Suburbia, as we didn’t finish it last night. This documentary highlighted the reasons for and history of suburbs, the peak of oil production, and the impending doom of suburban consumers and their way of life. I felt like I was a bit shaken out of complacency, yet left with little evidence of what really could happen as well as left with little to do about whatever situation we could be left with. At any rate, I think energy (and other types of) consumption should be lowered dramatically by Americans. I don’t mind paying higher prices for oil and natural gas use as I know I would conserve it more that way.

So…my day, now that my headache is gone, is also almost gone! It’s 7 p.m. and I have only been awake for 5 hours. I am enjoying a cup of tea now, and I know laundry, cleaning, and reading for church tomorrow are in the near future.

Tonight I am baby-sitting an adorable 9-month old. He crawls, pulls himself to standing, and tastes everything. Every detail of the world is new to him; he seems to be learning something new every second. Since no one else was around, I found myself making the dumbest noises around him in a seemingly instinctive effort to teach him words, music, rhythm, and sounds.

When I heard him uttering sounds and babbling to himself, I began thinking of the reverse of childhood–the childhood of senility, adult dependence, and aging. This childhood (and sometimes infancy) is obviously not the childhood most find endearing. There is a loss of hope that comes with observing babies and children, for when watching this group of tiny people, one is yearning for growth and learning. One thinks, “When will he take his first step? I wonder what he will be like when he is a teenager?” The hope for one who is in the second childhood or infancy is more of a time of reflection, regression, and, at times, depression. The hope in this case comes for life after death rather than for physical or mental progression in this life.

Sadly, some children stay in a state of permanent infancy or childhood. One of my students was relating this to me today in a class discussion. Her ten year old sister has the mind and actions of a one-year-old due to her mother’s heart medication while breastfeeding. I think one of my worst fears might be having a child that does not progress physically, mentally, socially, or spiritually. Another of my worst fears is facing the aging of my parents, my siblings, and my husband. I know if the time comes for me to confront any of these fears in the future, I will be given the strength. Who knew babysitting could prompt such reflection?

1. I am very tired for a Tuesday.
2. Good teaching day today….I love seeing the seniors somewhat nervous about their presentations. They produce higher quality work and are much more focused. Also, my bio students are getting to be much more self sufficient at writing lab procedures. In “grading” news, my seniors almost made me cry with their touching dedication sections in the letters to the judges.
3. I want to eat more fruits and vegetables, and I want to be working out more. Justin and I took the first steps (pedal pushes?) in doing this by riding our bikes today and yesterday. We also upped our Pioneer Organics
deliveries to weekly rather than every other week.
4. I also want to live more frugally, which was further reinforced to me while watching the first episode of 30 Days, a documentary by Morgan Spurlock. It followed Morgan and Alex, his fiancee, as they tried living on minimum wage for 30 days in Columbus, OH. Dang, that was hard. And they had a lot going for them, too….I must say it makes me think our health care system and our rate of minimum wage are utterly ridiculous if you can’t work two jobs and pay for an emergency room visit.

Recent Media/Events:
Lost
Gem of the Ocean (play at Seattle Rep, directed by Phylicia Rashad)
Driving to Graham, WA to visit Justin’s dad
Lesley’s B-day party
Justin’s extravagant school auction
awesome video archive website
Watching a 1948 online video of 2 cats reproducing and raising kittens (I know, I’m a weird science teacher)
seeing Justin on our local PBS station, KCTS, on All About the Money tonight!
The Omnivore’s Dilemma

Upcoming Events:
Ogle baby sitting
Anna’s graduation May 5–I wish I could be there!!
watching The End of Suburbia
Soccer game this Thursday

I hope to come back to some of this. So much is going on!!