Would you believe that I am sick again? I started getting sick the day before Thanksgiving, and now, here I am--still sick! Unbelievable, considering I just got over my last sickness. I went to school today but I am going to the doctor tomorrow to try to get some medication and/or find out if I have some weird disease. Cross your fingers. I'm tired of being sick. The kids are so sweet and sympathetic. I got promises from at least two classes that they will be good for the sub, unlike last time. They better be or there will be some serious reforming going on when I come back.
I had a really great Thanksgiving with my family. I met some new people, including my grandfather, my uncle, and my youngest brother. There were a ton of people there, including all of my brothers and sisters except for one who is away at college.
I know I have mentioned before that I don't really like kids (little ones), but I really enjoyed my time with my little brother and sister. Even when they were doing energetic stuff that normally gives me a big headache, I didn't get annoyed at all. My brother was very excited to meet me and at the end he hugged me goodbye. I had already met my sister and she was also very sweet when I went up to say goodbye to her. She reached out for my hand and squeezed it.
My grandfather was quite a character and was very friendly. He spent much of his time telling me about the one criminal in our family (now dead, so we don't have to worry about that). He said when my father told him about all of this he was thinking about it and suddenly it dawned on him that, "You're my grandaughter." He was very sweet and hugged me goodbye as well. I hope that I get to see him again soon, because I have never really had grandparents since my mom is not close to her parents, to put it mildly.
I barely got to talk to my uncle, but he seemed nice as well. It was nice seeing my father and my the two older brothers as well. I am starting to feel more comfortable around them, and they seem to be feeling the same. At some points it was awkward, but after awhile we relaxed. The oldest brothers and the sister want to get together over winter break and I will do my best to make that happen, and not get scared and put things off like I do sometimes. I am so happy about the whole thing.
Justin was his usual shy self, but he liked everyone and now claims he can do impressions of everyone on that side of the family.
The strangest thing is that my father and my stepmother seem so much like my mom in a lot of ways, even though my father and mother were together very briefly. It just seems weird that they have so many similar beliefs, especially on weird, seemingly random subjects.
One of the ways that people seem to view that generation of people (baby boomers, or slightly after baby boomers) is that they are a bunch of sort-of sell-outs trying to reconcile their once-radical/liberal/fight-the-power beliefs with their middle-class, SUV-driving existence. Am I wrong on this? However, people like my mom and my father and my stepmother (it's still weird saying those words) seem to be caught in the middle. They still have a lot of the same views, and walk the walk on some issues, but you can tell that there are certain things that they have compromised on. To sum it all up in a literal analogy: they don't drive SUVs, but they do drive cars instead of taking public transit. Who knows if I'm making any sense.
I have to say that the worst video of all time is "Jenny from the Block" by J-Lo. Can you please sound any more like you made that up in your best friend's basement? HOW IS THAT A SONG?!?!?
I'm sorry, but I am addicted to Making the Band with Puff Daddy. I don't even know when it's on, but when it is on it is a good show. I totally cried tonight when Mysterious found out that her sister was murdered. I was also glad that that tragedy brought the house together and kept Chopper from leaving. I was really worried there for a second, that Chopper would not be able to handle the pressure and would have to leave and give up his dream of being in Puff Daddy's group. I don't mean to make light of the serious situation, because I actually did cry for the pain she was in, but the whole Chopper drama was W-A-C-K. It was about as wack as it is for me to use that word. Mysterious is my favorite character, except when she refers to herself in the third person, which is very weird.
I totally forgot to watch Felicity tonight. I put the first season of that on my wishlist, as well as the entire season of My So Called Life. My question is when are they going to get Freaks and Geeks on DVD? By the way, everyone should read that book I mentioned by one of the writers/producers of Freaks and Geeks. It's called Kick Me by Paul Feig. I brought it to school and one of my students was reading it and he was laughing so hard he almost peed his pants. He turned bright red. No joke.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but I lost a whole bunch of my digital photos because I'm a loser and don't know how to properly use my computer. Oh well.
I just finished reading A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Please help me Epiphany or some other reader who remembers this book. How do you say Knowles? I can't remember from high school, and there is never a pronunciation guide on the words I really need. Is it "Know-less" or "Noles" (rhymes with holes). This would be great to tell me the answer to in my guestbook, especially by Thursday when I start reading the book with my students. I don't want them to realize their teacher is ignorant and doesn't even know how to say the author's name.
I also recently finished The Lovely Bones. It was worth the hype, and I would definitely recommend it. There was only one part toward the end that I really disliked, but I thought it was a good book. On top of that, I read Fallen Angels, which I might read with my freshmen. There is some pretty strong language in there, because it is set in Vietnam, but I think it is a cool book. I am not sure if they will get into it or not. Have I mentioned lately how much I love my freshmen? Even angry-young-skaters have been extra nice lately. One has even-gasp-been joking around with me instead of giving me his usual hostile glare. The other one wrote the saddest entry in his journal about how he asked this girl he liked out that he had liked forever and she said no and all of her friends laughed at him. He said he felt an inch tall. I just wanted to die after reading that.
I have to state, for the record, that I am officially over my Eminem crush. I am not a sell-out.
I am still not sure what to do about the whole annoying teacher business. I have gotten a lot of good advice from various sources. If it happens again, I know I will say something, but I have to decide if I want to say something privately or what. I may talk to the counselor at my school about it because I can trust her and she will help me out. Thanks for the advice in my guestbook, it is very appreciated.
I got some pictures from Thanksgiving and of my students, and I can't wait to see how they turn out. I almost always am disappointed because I am such a bad photographer, but hopefully some turned out good. I have a place where I put pictures up of my students at school and I want more pictures of the current ones up.
I always wonder if the kids write bad stuff about me when they have the secret, "Don't read this," entries in their journals. I think if I were them I might, just to see if my teacher acted any differently towards me. Like, "Ms. B. is the biggest bitch and I hate her." and then see if Ms. B. acts weird around you. I swear that I never read their folded entries, but I do wonder what they are writing in there. The only time was when I accidentally read one that was folded over because it came unfolded and I didn't realize it until too late. The subject was "Regrets..." and this boy wrote that he regreted that he had not had sex yet. This accidental entry made me realize that I am glad that I don't peek, because I really did not want to know that.
I'm starting poetry and I'm nervous. I want it to be great like last time, but I also want to try some new stuff. I just don't want to scare anyone away from poetry. I know my kids who I have again from last year (ones who failed the class) are looking forward to it, so that's a good sign.
I've been really annoyed with some of my seniors because they are blatent cheaters. On stuff that makes me wonder if they think I am an idiot, or I don't actually read it over. In certain assignments they have to tell personal little anecdotes that relate to the story. Well, I keep noticing that I have heard the same story before. I asked the original writer today to be honest and upfront and he admitted that people were copying his work. Ms. Boombastic is not going crazy! Glory be!
