I just watched one of my favorite movies High Fidelity. I rarely watch movies I own, because it seems difficult to set aside a whole hour and a half. Anyway, of course it got me thinking about top five lists, which is one of my favorite things about that book and movie. So here's one of my top five lists for you.
Top Five Liz Phair Songs
5. "Perfect World"
4. "Rock Me"
3. "Little Digger"
2. "Fuck and Run"
1. "Divorce Song"
I know that some of them are sort of obvious, but who cares. It's my list. If there is anyone who reads this who doesn't own a Liz Phair CD, you better go out and buy Exile in Guyville.
Justin might be coming home today from the hunting trip (or tomorrow). I am tired of waiting. I really, really miss him. I have done nothing worthwhile while he has been gone. I should have made plans to get together with friends I never see or something else, but I just sat around mainly.
I did see Love Actually today, which was even better than I thought it would be. I love Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, so of course it was great. I am so jealous of my sister, who is in England right now for a semester. She is having so much fun, too, but she didn't find an English bloke like we'd hoped--strangely enough she is having a fling with a Canadian.
I am trying very hard to make a photo blog, but I can't get the stupid blogger archives to work. The free web space I got doesn't support movable type (but, seriously, if I can't figure out the blogger archives there is no way I would be able to use movable type). I know that I set up the archives before when I had blogger, but I have tried everything. Maybe I'm not meant to have a photo blog. I tried doing Photo Friday, and it was a pretty bad picture. I love taking pictures, but I have no sense of design or direction.
I forgot to mention it, but my mom is moving really close by. I am a little weirded out by how close by she is, but she said she wouldn't stop by unannounced. At least she didn't move into the same apartment complex. She was planning on moving to a different area, but then I guess she decided she would rather be closer, etc. She is about a ten minute walk or a three minute drive. It will be nice to be able to see her more often. Even though we are in the same city, her old place is about forty minutes away from me.
I'm restless today for some reason. I got four more books to read from the library. I am getting books at a much higher rate than I am able to read them, but I put them on hold and they all came up at the same time.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I read In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner. She has a website that I have linked, and read pretty regularly. Anyway, I emailed her telling her that I liked the book, it made me cry, etc. And I got a form letter response, but then I got a short real email from her. How cool is that? That's the second time that I have emailed an author and got a reply. I did really like the book, and I thought it was better than her first book Good in Bed.
Yesterday I did have a really good day at school. There is more drama going down with the certain teacher on our team, and possibly more to come, but other than that things are good. I feel even closer to my team leader, too. We also have a fun field trip coming up soon. What is so cool about this school is that even though we have a lot of rules, it really is about rewarding kids for being successful, too. Our field trip is a reward for kids who didn't get any referrals, so that is an incentive for kids to be good. I know that some people think that kids shouldn't be rewarded for every little thing (because then they will do it for the incentive rather than because it is the right thing to do), but I think occassional big rewards are great.
Oh, I read the newspaper from my old town online sometimes, and one of my former students that got sent to Iraq was interviewed in there. I knew that he got sent to Iraq, and I was relieved to hear that he was alive to be interviewed. He was a good kid for me, and it was nice to hear what he was up to. I would rather not have seen him go into the military (but I did write one of his recommendation letters to get him there), but I'm glad that he is doing well in what he has chosen to do.
I miss my old students a surprising amount. I think middle school was the right choice for me, but there are certain things that I miss about high schoolers. I can't get over the fact that the kids I had my first year of teaching are now old enough to drink alcohol (legally). Can you imagine?
I was just thinking about how I am a fourth year teacher now. I am really proud of myself for getting this far. I am always shocked by the amount of teachers that quit after their first or second year. Some days I wish that I could quit, but lately I have started to feel like I might actually be teaching the kids something. It's funny how small things can make you feel that way.
The team leader told me that she was teaching about something in her class, and she compared it to the difference between a and an. Someone said, "I just learned that last week!" They learned it in my class. While it's sad that they hadn't learned when to use an before they were 13 years old, it makes me feel an incredible amount of power to know that they learned that from me.
Well, it might be a while until you next hear from me (Justin getting home and all). I'll miss writing.
