Miscellaneous Missives

Today in class the students had a list of adjectives that they needed to label positive or negative. One of these words was elite. When I asked the class to show one finger if it was positive and two fingers if it was negative, the class was split. The definition stated elite was being the best (or similar wording). A discussion followed in which students defended their positive/negative. Elite should be positive. Someone works hard to be "the best" at something. They are elite. Those in class that found elite negative because those people who are elite think they are better than others (attitude). I played "devil's advocate" to each side, but my thoughts turned to the election. Obama is elite because he is the better candidate. McCain uses elitist to describe Obama to show an attitude. This is what makes politics crazy; it's a word game. McSame gets by calling Obama an elitist even though he lives a more elitist lifestyle than Obama while Obama...

I would like to apologize for posting another forwarded e-mail. The reasoning is two-fold. 1) As most of you know I am recovering from being ill, so my experiences have been limited to my computer. 2) Although I am recovering, I have still managed to be frustrated by the Presidential election which probably will be my focus until November. Yes, of course, I would like to have a less shallow life, but the truth is this is the best I have! I seem to be a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight…… If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different." Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers -- you're a Quintessential American Story. If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim. If you name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick. Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable. Attend five different small colleges before graduating, you're "well-grounded." If you spend three ...

Take the time to open this link and see what Alaska women think of Sarah Palin. Link If the link doesn't work take the time to copy and paste the link below into your web browser. http://bigshow.bigfolio.com/?s=000011662&t=0e6a8ae03101be65098418ccb735e4a1

I received this e-mail a week ago. Today as I was talking to someone who didn't realize Sarah Palin didn't have more than a BA, I decided to post it to my blog. Also keep in mind Barack Obama was Editor of the Harvard Law Review while McSame was fifth from the bottom in his class. You are The Boss... which team would you hire? With America facing historic debt, multiple war fronts, stumbling health care, a weakened dollar,all-time high prison population, skyrocketing federal spending, mortgage crises, bank failures, etc., this is an ***unusually critical*** election year. Let's look at the educational background of both tickets: - - - - - Obama - - - - - Occidental College - Two years. Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude - - - - - Biden - - - - - University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science. Syracuse University College ...

Tonight is the debate. As I turned on the television this afternoon, I heard Jim Vandehei of Politico say that America doesn't want a candidate in the debate that seems too intelligent. Really? If this is true McCain/Palin should do very well. Tonight's topic is foreign policy although I'm certain they'll also talk about the recent economic situation which is certainly frightening. I look forward to staying home (like I have another choice with my current health situation) and watching the first debate.

This afternoon I went to the doctor. It seems I really am sick... walking pneumonia (not super sick). While at the doctor, I was given two prescriptions. One was for an antibiotic and the other was for the cough. After a rather short conversation about me taking cough syrup, the doctor gave me a prescription for a pill to alleviate the cough. I was a bit excited... a miracle drug? Too good to be true? Yes, I think it's too good to be true. I took one fifteen minutes ago; the cough persists!

Our students this year are weird. Friday, after the school picnic, I was able to give examples: kids looking for holes, kids capturing grasshoppers, kids playing with toads, kids playing army and hiding behind bushes, kids wanting to look at moss, etc. These are somewhat weird behaviors for seventh grade boys. Although they are a weird group, for the most part they are nice. Yesterday I went home sick and didn't teach any of my classes. Today I sat atop of the computer cart with my water and box of tissues. Most of my time was spent coughing, sneezing, and blowing my nose. The students were great. They worked quietly and periodically said, "bless you."

I first heard this on the radio this morning. "John McCain owns at least 13 cars. The average car's gas tank holds about 15 gallons. The average cost of a gallon of gas in the United States is $3.76. It would cost John McCain $733.20 to fill up his fleet of 13 cars - just once. Just by way of comparison, the average monthly rent in the US is $766." This article doesn't mention that Obama (and his family of four) has one vehicle... a hybrid. Who would actually bring change? Who's the elitist?

Finally after being in my new home for over two months, I have pictures on the wall. This was after a trip to Michael's last night to get glass for one of the frames. The lady behind the framing counter advised me to go the the hardware store instead of buying the glass from her. Leaving I thought maybe she merely didn't feel like cutting my glass, but as I saved $13 at the hardware store, I realized she was being helpful. Earlier I posted a picture of my front wall. Although the reaction to my tilted mirror was mixed, I kept it at an angle. I did heed the advice and added framed photos to the wall. My problems is I'm not sure if I like the new arrangement. Most of the time I think I like it then every once in awhile... I also hung framed Alaska photos over the fireplace. As with the front wall, most of the time I like them; then sometimes I think they are two inches to low. Feel free to comment or e-mail me and let me know what you think!! I would also like advic...

The Cubs beat the Cardinals (always good) today to clinch second consecutive divisional championship. Word Series??

The following is completely copied and pasted from an e-mail. When I read it, I cried... tears of laughter and tears of fright. I have always been an Anne Lamott fan. One of my favorite books is Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith . This appeared in my inbox this afternoon. I feel blessed to have received the e-mail. May you be blessed as you read it. For the majority of you reading this, tears will form in the corners of your eyes. A call to arms: How to handle the fury brought on by this election? Register voters, hit the streets, pray. Stop talking about her. Talk about Obama. Sept. 16, 2008 | I had to leave church Sunday morning when it turned out that the sermon was not about bearing up under desperate circumstances, when you feel like you’re going crazy because something is being perpetrated upon you and your country that is so obscene that it simply cannot be happening. I sat outside a 7-Eleven and had a sacramental Dove chocolate bar. Jeez: Here we are again. A man...

Yesterday I ran a bit late for school. Although I woke up later, I still played my turns at Scrabble and resigned to the fact that I would be a bit late. In reality, I was on time, not early but on time. Today I was running late to I sent a text to J (friend and colleague) after leaving the gas station. M- running late... needed gas She replied stating she was dropping off her daughter. The remaining texts follow: M- on 35... wanna race J- Go J- I win M- 35 and 76th J- Heehee... flagpole Obviously I need to figure out the location of her daughter's school before I decide to race. My guess is I was at least seven minutes behind her. The text exchange, however, was entertaining... I don't know why... It's good to be easily entertained.

Enough! If Norm Coleman wins with the onslaught of negative ads... If McCain wins with Palin (the anti-woman)... I will not be physically or mentally well enough to attend work on Wednesday, November 5th. Although this has been my thought for sometime, today I realized the 5th is actually a workshop day, so it won't make it as difficult to "do my job."

When I planted tomatoes, I planted Roma and cherry. The cherry tomatoes have produced all year and have been wonderful. The Roma tomatoes have produced, but one in every three or four looks like this. Today it was extreme four of the tomatoes were rotting at the bottom. I would think it was the cold, but this has been this way all summer. What is wrong? Please someone let me know!!!

Tonight while having dinner with some friends, someone asked about my new commute. I explained that even though it is only 2.2 miles further, it takes at least fifteen minutes longer. "How can this be?" she asked. After giving it some thought, I replied that it must be the extra stoplights. On the way home this evening, I counted the lights. From my old residence to my new residence, there are eight lights (nine going home... eight going to work). Oh, this explains it. It's not the bridge (pictured above); it's the lights.

This morning Father Jerry Doherty talked at our service about Celtic spirituality and "The Reawakening of Community Spirituality." At one point he mentioned that what we are doing is real; "it's not play acting." The holy spirit is real because we believe. He mentioned the "real, not play acting" several times, and it of course made me think of the upcoming election, as almost everything does. Before the service started, I was talking with a lady who said Palin works for those who are nostalgic of a day when the country was doing better economically and women stayed at home while the husband went to work. I'm not sure that I believe that, but it is interesting. When I think of McCain and Palin, I think of the fact that this is "real, not play acting." In the "real world" people are struggling and losing rights. In the real world education, the economy, health care, the war in Iraq (Afghanistan, Iran, fill in the blank), w...

I decided not to mention my never ending frustrations with Sarah Palin and my annoyance with people who "don't get it." Instead of telling you that after a friend and I shared two bottles of wine last night I didn't feel coherent enough to answer her questions about why I didn't like Palin (seriously?) or instead of sharing my frustrations of seeing Palin's mug on the front of every magazine while standing in line at B&N today, I am going to lighten it up and ask for your opinion. What's your opinion on the angled mirror above my chest? Please comment. Like/dislike? Too low/too high? Too little of the space/too much for the space?

Finally, a rational voice on Sarah Palin. Please take the time to look at this website and forward it to your intelligent friends. My guess is there are many of these sites. http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

Last year I ranted about 9-11 when I posted on this date . This year my plan is to do the same. The 9-11 hype bothers me. Today in my classes as I asked students to put the date on the paper and mentioned the date, several students made sounds like they were being hurt. "Get over it," I responded. These kids were four years old when it happened. They don't remember 9-11. All they know about 9-11 is the Republican and media hype. Yes, it was devastating, but it's not the most devastating thing that has happened to our country... not even close. Americans need to remember 9-11 as they remember all of the other horrible things that happened to our country. Next they need to remember it's history and get over it. Perhaps we should remember that we went to war in Iraq due to this event even though it had nothing to do with Iraq.

In my heart I am certain that Obama will be President and Biden will be elected president and the world (yes... entire world) will be a better place. The young and the intelligent will vote. My head says it will be closer because stupid and rich people also vote. I've been looking at Pieces of Flair on Facebook (little buttons on Facebook... pop culture, politics etc. I've added two to this post.) which also leaves me concerned. When I look at the frequently added, I am appalled to see McCain and Palin buttons in the first five to ten pages. This means they are popular or at least recently added. One says Maverick/Barracuda. Really? I am appalled at the ignorance of this country. Does anyone look at the votes and actual stands of the candidates? Even a person with a low IQ should question having Palin as VP, one step from the presidency. Since I have little control over the outcome, I am praying about the election and the intelligence of our country.

Since I'm feeling guilty, I can't blog today. I'm feeling guilty because... 1) I didn't take the time to vote in the primary. 2) Instead of making a salad for dinner, I had take-out... two nights in a row. 3) I'm putting off the church committee work. 4) Instead of working on school work, I am playing Scrabble. 5) I'm happy one of the students will no longer be in my last class.

Although the construction guys are still around, they are working on other buildings. The reality is they are beginning to enter the area when I'm leaving in the morning and gone by the time I return in the late afternoon. Until today this was going well. Today I was sitting in my apartment preparing for a night meeting when I realized most of my windows were covered with plastic. As I left for my meeting, I saw a note on the garage door stating that beginning 9-8 (today) they were going to start painting the building, and we should remove items from our deck and close our windows. My guess is it was there when I got home from work, but I know it wasn't there this am. Since they have put plastic over my kitchen deck door, it's hard to go get my grill and chair. I was able to move my tomatoes and chair to the middle of the top deck. Hopefully my tomatoes will be safe.

... no surprise!

I know summer is over because... It's too cold to have the windows open especially at night. I've already washed my beach blanket. This morning at church my minister exclaimed, "Summer's over... get on with it." I'm starting to worry that my tomatoes which are greenish orange won't make it to bright red. My laundry takes longer because capris and fleece take up more room in the washer than t-shirts and shorts. Both the Rams and the Cubs are losing. My weekend is spent correcting papers and planning for the next week. I'm not able to get as much reading done.

I need to watch The Daily Show. Anyone know what time it's on?

This morning I was a bit late getting out of the door. Once I started my commute, I was fairly certain I was going to be late. In reality I made it with six minutes to go. Although the drive was a lot of weaving in and out of traffic at record speeds. The sky was wonderful.

Vote for Obama!

Tomorrow is Friday. The week has gone well, but I am looking forward to the weekend. Honestly, standing up all day is "killing me." At the end of the day, I'm too tired to think or do anything besides sit down. I miss sitting in the sun and reading. Actually, I miss the sun. My weekend plans are not exciting, I will make a quick trip home to help my dad (pneumonia). Enjoying sweet corn and tacos from the Taco House should be part of my trip. Unfortunately schoolwork, laundry, and grocery shopping will also be included in the weekend plans. At least it's the weekend! I miss the days when every day was like the weekend.

I now have two days "under my belt." The kids are average seventh graders (squirrely, talkative, emotional)... "nothing out of the ordinary." Actually, I've been pleasantly surprised. My first two days of lesson plans have gone quite well. This is not to say the school year has started smoothly. In fact it's been a bit rough. Bathroom and eating breaks are now scheduled. Waking to an alarm is less comforting than waking when my body feels the need to arise. Did I mention having to go to bed at ten o'clock and standing all day? Although the start has been a tough, I am thankful there are not huge "red flags" in the classroom.

When I left school on Friday, I knew what I was going to teach today, the first day of school. After reading A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future over the weekend, I changed my plans. Today I arrived at school not really knowing which plan to use. JL helped me make the decision, and I went with the revised plan which included making captions for pictures and the story The Little Engine that Could . Overall I think the change was positive. It's difficult to know on the first day. Honestly it's even more difficult because the student work I planned on perusing this evening is sitting back in my classroom. I knew it was a difficult day on my voice; I didn't realize it was a difficult day on my brain too.

When my grandfather passed away in 2002, I kept two peace lilies from the funeral. Today after almost six years, I decided it would be a good idea to repot the plants. The amazing thing about the peace lilies is that it is difficult to harm them in any way. I keep them in memory of my grandfather, and I keep them to remind me to water all of my plants. When they start to droop, I water everything. The repotting didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. Obviously I learned nothing from repotting the aloe inside instead of outside. Although it was a mess in my kitchen, I think the lilies will do better in their new pots.