A term I have noticed on some blogs lately is, "First world problems." I find this term pretty annoying. That being said, what I am about to complain about is definitely a, "First world problem." So sorry for using the annoying term, and sorry for being annoying. But this bothers me every single day when I drive to work, so it is about time I complain about it.
I can't stand talk radio, really, but what I really can't stand is morning talk radio. So I really only have a few choices in the morning--94.7 is the main station that I listen to since it is mainly music and they play a clip from the Jon Stewart show. However, the DJ, Greg, is really starting to get on my nerves. I like him because apparently he has four or five cats that he talks about on his Purina Pet ads. Here's my first world problem, though: I think Greg must be a big Smashing Pumpkins fan. He literally plays a Smashing Pumpkins song EVERY SINGLE MORNING. I'm sorry, but is not 1995. I actually own a Smashing Pumpkins album and previously would have said I enjoyed their music. Unfortunately, Greg playing a Smashing Pumpkins song EVERY SINGLE MORNING means that I now hate them more than any other band. Why, Greg, why? Was this part of his life plan? I picture Greg back in the '90s as he was trying to break into the DJ business saying to himself, "Smashing Pumpkins is the BEST BAND OF ALL TIME! If I ever fulfill my dream of becoming a DJ, I promise myself that I will play a SP fan every single day!" UGH.
What do you think? Is there an artist or band that you love enough that you wouldn't mind hearing every single morning for, apparently, the rest of your life? Keep in mind that he only plays the most popular Smashing Pumpkins songs, so that means there are about four songs that he rotates through. It's not like he is going through their entire discography here.
I guess if I had to hear the same artist every day, I might go for Liz Phair, Cold War Kids, or Arcade Fire. Those are definitely artists that I seem to be able to listen to over and over. Still...annoying.
Other than being annoyed by the Smashing Pumpkins, life is going pretty well. We just had a school dance, which is always insane, because the kids have to have all of their work in to attend. So dance day (which does happen during the school day) is madness with kids turning into crazy dance fiends who run around the team area frantically saying things like, "But I turned that in!" and, "Am I missing anything?" Anyway, I was proud of my team this year because a lot of the slackers worked really hard and managed to earn their way into the dance. Hopefully the thrill of watching about four kids out of 400 do the jerk in a freezing gymnasium is enough to encourage them to keep up the hard work. (The rest of the kids stood around in a circle watching the jerk, and then went back to standing around in clumps when the song was over). Aside from that, my student teacher has taken over teaching one of my classes so I have been able to see three of my friends/teammates teach during the time when I am not supposed to be in there. It is such a privilege to be able to do that, although it is really nerve wracking for me to leave the room! Legally, it is okay as long as you are in the building. She is having typical first-time teacher problems, but she is doing a good job staying positive and trying new things. She is so lucky that she is with the kids we have this year rather than the kids we had last year. The group she has taken over has a few kids who can be a pain but are mostly sweethearts (and the pains are not really that bad at all). She actually went home sick the other day so I got to teach them again, and I realized I really missed them.
Having watched three other teachers, I felt good about my teaching and bad about my teaching. I felt like I really do have classroom management under control in my room--kids acted the same (or worse) in the other classes. What made me feel I could improve was that in one class I felt like the way the teacher taught made the class SO EXCITED about the subject matter--she related Ancient Greece to their lives so much, something that you would think would be very foreign for a modern twelve-year-old. I think I do a pretty good job helping the kids have personal connections to the literature we read, but the level of excitement is not always that high in my room. The other thing that made me think I should improve is that one of my friends used multiple SIOP strategies in just a 40 minute period--I need to figure out how to incorporate visuals more often in my classroom. I use graphic organizers all the time, and I use think-pair-share, but I don't use visuals very often, which are very important for second language learners. Anyway, I can't wait to see more teachers because I have gotten so many ideas and have also confirmed that I am on the right track, too, most of the time! Just so you know, I am leaving the teachers who let me watch them each a little note with multiple compliments about how awesome their teaching is since we do not get enough positive feedback!
Is anyone watching The Vampire Diaries? It is my favorite new show, along with Glee and Mercy. I am still not loving So You Think You Can Dance as much this season. I am rooting for Jakob to win the whole thing. Ryan, Ashleigh and Ellenore better not win (and by the way, what's up with the weird way they all spell their names?)
I have gone to a couple of shows recently--I haven't been keeping my concert list updated. I saw Regina Spektor, who was really amazing live. I also just saw The Helio Sequence for the second time (not as impressive as the first) and Airborne Toxic Event for the third time (my favorite song by them has finally started getting played on the radio--"Does This Mean You're Moving On?") Anyway, they are really not that impressive live, so I don't know why I have seen them three times. I also saw Modest Mouse for the second time. I'm not sure if I am forgetting any other concerts. I hope not! I still feel like the best show I have seen in a long time was Cold War Kids with Franz Ferdinand. I highly recommend seeing both of those bands if they ever come to your town. The band that is on the top of my wish list to see live is Arcade Fire. They need to hurry up and come out with a new CD and then go on a tour!
Hmm, I just read over my last entry and realized I referred to British Boyfriend by his name. I guess I better change that...
