Small Town Survival

So now that all my major projects and papers have been turned in I'm thinking I'll be back on a regular basis, at least until spring starts. To give you an idea of how busy I've been.. well, let's just say that I still have a winter layout and the fact that finals are coming up seems like a nice break from all the other work I've been doing for my classes. That's right, I said finals are a break. Wow.

In other news, the creative juices are starting to bubble and we'll see what comes out of it. There are a few things I'd like to try making, but I'm not sure I really understand the concept, but what the heck.. that's what experimentation is for. So, I'll keep you posted on those things as well.

As for school, if everything goes well *knock on wood* I should be done in a year. A lot better than the two I was originally looking at. Also a little scary because I have to take an incredible number of credit hours between now and student teaching to make sure everything gets done the way it should. If I thought I was busy before.. I'm sure that this time will redefine the word busy in my world.

Subbing is still good, indie is still crazy and yours truly is kinda close to getting another year older. Cake and ice cream at my house Wednesday. We'll be on the deck being silly.

Apparently I'm a whole year older today than I was yesterday. I'm not sure how that works, but it's true. And it's not really true. I'm a whole year older than I was a year ago. Anyway. Birthdays. Like Humpty dumpty says.. unbirthdays are glorious because there are more of them. But Alice likes birthdays best and so do I.

Mine included class all day and an exam but it also included wishes from friends, cards and cake. The real deal is Wednesday with cake and ice cream but if you can't make it that's okay. Instead maybe you could take five minutes out of your day to relax and have a drink, or do something nice for someone, or spend time with someone you care about. I'm not picky.

If I learned anything over the last year it' that nothing really stays the same. You can grow with it or away from it but you're going to have to deal with it.

I'm also planning on organizing a little better and obviously someone knew this was my plan because the last few days before my birthday were the most chaotic and unorganized days I can remember. Maybe I had to get it all out of my system if I was going to be organized. Maybe it's a sign of things to come. Either way, I'm game.

Enough about me now, go out and enjoy the spring weather. I know that's what I'll be doing.

I drove by the local car pool meeting spot the other day and saw it pretty damn full. I'm glad to see people are using it. I mean, sure you can save gas, but you can also save the environment, or at least do your part to make sure it's not getting worse. Plus, today is Earth Day and we could all stand to remind ourselves to save a little more and waste a little less.

This moral musing was brought to you by the letter E and the number 22.

I've spent my day so far watching the first 30-40 minutes of Big Fat Liar. Four time. Four. 4. Four. It's actually pretty funny for what it is. And the music is pretty good. But Four times. Four. Now we're on to Cheaper By the Dozen. Which might sound good except for the fact that I watched it at least twice last week (or the first 30-40 minutes of it anyway) and also the weekend before that I saw the whole thing. And I watched the first half of it at least twice before.

In some ways this must be teacher prep where you teach the same stuff to different classes and teach the same stuff year after year with some adjustment.

Lucky for me the kids have been pretty good today. Except for the 6th graders because there are 60 or so of them. While they aren't *bad* they just get overwhelming. The questions, the annoyance. I still like subbing for this teacher though, the rest of the day makes it worth it. And when the 6th graders are quiet and focused? It's that much more amazing.

So the semester ended. I did awesome in the important classes. No idea in the one I disliked. Sure it was fine in the end.. waiting for grades to be posted. So now that it's done I offically have a whole week to myself. OR you know, as much to myself as things ever are. And a whole WEEK?!!? So much time between classes. Whatever. Stupid EMU splitting finals week and cutting the time off. Not cool.

In the end I'll hide out in the basement with too much popcorn and too much wow and too much sleep and too much rain and pretend that my week is a month and that there's actually something more exciting going on. Yay! And then school starts.

And while this all sounds pretty negative I'm at least grateful for the time I do have off before the hell that is the next three semesters starts. Really. I'm glad for free time, even if it's short. It's not that often I get so much time to do anything I want and actually have things I want to do. It's pretty nice.

I've been asked today:
What movie are we watching?
Can I go to ...the bathroom/my locker/get a drink?
Can we sit where we want?

I haven't been asked today:
How are you?
What movie do you want to watch?
Anything I can do to help you?

I've repeated today:
Sit down.
Please be quiet for attendance.
Stop throwing things.

I'd rather be doing today:
Watching A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Hiding under the covers with the dog to keep my feet warm.
Sitting in a coffee shop with friends.

Foolishly saw this movie last night. I only say that because it was after a long day of subbing and then working at the video store. It also led to a full day of subbing. Today. With 6th graders. Remind me to tell you about the magical powers that 6th graders have. The ones that make me twitch and want to cry. Especially when I'm tired.

But the movie? It was excellent. Since the engagement announcement from J Garner and Afflec Kidman has become my new girl-crush. So she rules. And Sean Penn surprised me by not taking over in some weird way. I have no idea why I expect that from him, but I do. And he fits right in, does a great job, etc. Lots of great support from the other actors in the movie. A very nicely done thriller that packages some fantastic commentary on the world and rolls it up in a very beautiful human story.

PS Sorry if this seems a little over the top, but I've been on the emotional side lately, so you're just going to have to deal with it.

"I'll be blunt: If you don't believe in the power of genuine kindness then you're missing out on a key mechanism that animates our universe." - joygantic

How truly right he is.