T13

I am woefully behind in blogworld. I promise to catch up on all of your blogs very soon, but first I thought I'd do a T13 to catch you up on the 13 days since my last post.

1. The b-ball team is 2 and 0. The final score of the first game was 21-18. The second game finished at 28-27 in OverTime! We've only had one practice and it's pure chaos on the court. Tonight at practice, we plan on teaching the girls an actual offense and an inbounds play. We play our third game on Sunday, then we're off til 1/7.

2. I organized a successful scholarship reception for about 200 people. Later that evening, I read at the the College's annual Festival of Lessons and Carols--the night officially makes it feel like Christmas. It helped that there was a light snow swirling outside the chapel at the end of the night.

3. Last Saturday, I chopped down my very own Christmas tree. She's very Charlie Brown in stature...though much fuller than C.B.'s famous tree. 3 feet tall and about as wide as she is tall, but just perfect. Next Friday when I head home, I plan to throw the tree in the back seat for my parents' living room--but first I'll get pictures of my 3 footer next to their 15 footer!

4. Work has been full-throttle. It's exhausting and, at times, frustrating, but we're hanging in there. Our department Christmas luncheon is tomorrow at my favorite restaurant--nothing can top that!

5. I pulled an 11-13 year old girl and a female from the nursing home off the Giving Tree at work. Gifts are due tomorrow and I do not have gifts. Tonight, on my way home from b-ball practice, I'll be stopping at the mall.

6. None of my Christmas shopping is even started. I love love love Christmas, but I am not a good gift person--sometimes I get inspired, but otherwise, it's painful. I hate shopping, so that does not help my cause.

7. Though the last 3 Monday nights have been a bit shorter since I haven't been to Northampton, I do miss my B.Y. friends. I look forward to diving back in this coming Monday.

8. This past Sunday night, I was dead tired and had to babysit overnight. Usually, I try to get the kids to play board games, shoot some hoops, build with Legos, etc. This week, I pulled the youngest onto my lap and we watched the oldest play a handheld video game (he really wanted to show me, but he didn't need an audience of three!). I then let them watch an hour and a half of bad TV before bed. I did read aloud from Harry Potter 6 for a while too.

9. I've been missing new TV. There are some nights I come home and I just want to throw on the TV and find a new episode of a favorite show. No such luck. In the meantime, I have watched several episodes of Sex and the City. Wow.

10. Since I have not seen a couple of my Boston friends since the first weekend in October, we are trying to arrange a get together for this weekend. Hopefully it will happen because I miss them dearly.

11. I've been trying to unpack more in the apartment. The effort has been somewhat unsuccessful as I am too tired when I get home.

12. Today, I spent most of the morning (even though I have a million things to do) editing 2 of my brother's take home finals - one was on British literature and the other on US foreign relations.

13. Last night, I served Midnight Breakfast to students from 11 PM til 1 AM. It's exam week and dining services runs a Midnight Breakfast program and encourages faculty and staff to serve the eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, egg & cheese sandwiches, pancakes, toast and waffles. I came home feeling covered in grease.

And so it begins...

I just got this email:

Quote:
" 'Cue' (or 'Q'?) & E are sooo cool!"
-- Claire , 7:45 p.m. last night.
End Quote.

Our first basketball practice was last night. It was a wild hour and a half and I was reminded that 12, 13 and 14 year old girls communicate in squeals, shrieks and squeaks. Honestly, only dogs can understand what they are saying. 14 of them in a "gym" (cafeteria/auditorium/fake gym) for an hour and a half...exhausting. The girls are cute and most of them have *some* idea of how to play...but our first game is Sunday. I find myself sad that we don't have more time to get ourselves together--I barely know what name goes with what face! (Plus, we have Emily/Elizabeth/Ellen/Ethel/Emily...and Abby/Alysha...and Molly/Michaela/Megan, so it's a constant tongue twister!)

But then this afternoon, I got that email. It's from a colleague of mine with a daughter on the team. Apparently, we're a hit. I'm "Q"--nickname I acquired in L.A. from the kids at school and my co-coach is "E" for Erin. Apparently, we passed the test and we're officially in.

The game on Sunday should be HYSTERICAL...and maybe a little scary.

A Tuesday 13

Hello, all! I hope your holiday festivities were wonderful. I love Thanksgiving...none of the Christmas pressure and chaos. Good family, good friends and good food are the only requirements. Not that I don't love Christmas, because I do...but the whole "perfect gift" for everyone is stressful!

On with the show...

1. I finally gave in and got myself a MA license. The actual license came in the mail yesterday. Under "Sex" is the letter M. That's not right.
2. Thanksgiving was small this year--only 15 of us. Still had a great time.
3. The next night, 20 of us gathered in a cafe on 21st Street in NYC to visit with my cousin Amanda and her daughter Yasmin. They are visiting from Sydney, Australia. It's been 3 years since we've seen them.
4. Amanda is 9 years older than I am. She was raised in Australia, but came to live in NYC when I was about 12 and stayed for about 10 years. I definitely idolized her--this cool, Australian who seemed to have all the answers.
5. I want everyone to like me. It hurts my feelings immensely when I think or know someone doesn't like me--even if that person's a bitch. I'm working on this.
6. There is one person at work in particular--she doesn't like me. I don't like her either, and there's a laundry list of reasons why...but still, it bugs me that she doesn't like me.
8. I'm getting better at just ignoring her and focusing on spending my time, energy and lunch hours on people I genuinely like. It seems like a much wiser use of time.
9. Basketball practice starts this week. Our first game is Sunday! I don't even know the girls' names yet.
10. I have lots of Christmas shopping to do, and NO ideas as to what to buy.
11. The weather is making me sad. I hate global warming--I love snow.
12. Because someone asked me today, I'll share my answer with you all too...my favorite names are Conor and Caroline.
13. Now that I've finished waxing my eyebrows, it's time for bed. Don't you just love the completely random information I share with y'all in these Thirteens?

Snow

As school wrapped up for Christmas vacation, Sara spent a morning lesson planning for the first week of January. Her class was down the hall in the gym, practicing their Christmas pageant song and dance. She had decided to take advantage of some peace and quiet. They would be starting a new story in the reading anthology after break and when she flipped ahead, she saw the story's title: Snow Day. The vocabulary words included drift, plow, frost and snow angel. Her classful of 7 year olds from South Central Los Angeles would have little, if any, experience with anything having to do with snow. Sara would try to dig through photo albums over Christmas break and look for pictures to illustrate these otherwise abstaract concepts.

On Christmas morning, Sara woke up to the familiar scraping in her driveway. Out her window, she saw that the world had been blanketed in a thick coat of white. Grabbing her camera, she ran outside to catch the plow in action. Later that day, Sara cajoled her grumpy brother into making snow angels and snapped a snowblower in action. She captured the snow piled up higher than the bumper of her family van and made her brother stand waist deep in a drift.

Back in California, Sara sat cross-legged on the floor in a circle of 8 students.

"How many of you know what a snow day is?"

No response.

"Have any of you ever seen snow?"

Wendy raised her hand slowly.

"My mama took us to Big Bear Mountain. We made snowballs."

"How deep was the snow? How much was on the ground?"

Wendy thought for a moment, "We could still see some of the grass under the snow."

"Can you imagine having so much snow that they cancel school?"

Wendy shook her head, eyes wide. The rest of the group laughed.

Sara pulled out the picturesfrom Christmas morning and passed them around the circle. She explained how snow plows cleared the streets and how people used snow blowers and shovels to clear sidewalks and driveways. She told them about 5:30 AM phone calls that meant you could sleep until 9 and then spend the whole day playing in the snow and drinking hot chocolate. Sara had also brought a few pictures of herself at 6 or 7 years old, playing in a snowfilled yard and sledding down the hill in front of the high school. Her kids squealed with delight--the thought that Sara had ever been a little kid was hilarious to them.

After a few snowy stories about life in New Jersey, Sara reviewed the target vocabulary, making each student point out the term in one of her pictures. When she felt confident that the words had become concrete objects, they opened their textbooks and began to read.

a twist on the Random 10

Sorry I've been M.I.A.! I'll be better, I promise.

I got this from a friend...I'm looking forward to seeing what your soundtracks are!

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button

Opening Credits: Another Horsedreamer's Blues (Counting Crows)
Waking up: Jesus on the Radio (Guster)
Falling in Love: Mercy House (The Nields)
Fight Song: If He Never Said Hello (Linda Eder)
Breaking up: Blister in the Sun (Violent Femmes)
Prom: As Long as You're Mine (Wicked)
Life: After All (Linda Eder)
Mental Breakdown: I Spy (Guster)
Driving: It Happens Every Day (Dar Williams)
Flash Back: The Sweetness (Nerissa and Katryna Nields)
Getting Back Together: Ali Boumaye (Nerissa and Katryna Nields)
Wedding: From Me to You (The Beatles)
Birth of a Child: She's Saving Me (Indigo Girls)
Final Battle: All My Pretty Horses (The Nields)
End Credits: What Do You Love More Than Love (Dar Williams)

slacker

That's me! As our friend GretaJane reminded me last night, I am woefully behind on blogging and commenting. I'm going to try to make up some ground today. As a start, here's my piece from last night's Big Yellow session.

* * * * *

I don't remember learning how to play basketball. I've known how to dribble, pass and shoot for as long as I can remember. Throw that hard, orange sphere at my face and my hands will catch it, instinctively dribbling, spinning and playing mindlessly with it. My mom taught us how to play--she'd played ball in college, coached and reffed for years. At the age of 15, she started to run clinics in the South Bronx for elementary and high school students. Naturally, she'd raised her children with a ball in hand.

My sister and I attended one ballet lesson when I was about 6--Erin was 4. My mom still insists it was our idea. At the end of class, the teacher walked over to my mother and suggested that we find a different activity for Tuesday afternoons. Halfway through ballet class, I'd turned to her and asked for the ball.

When I was 9, my father's best friend began coaching the Fordham University women's basketball team. That summer, he started a girls' basketball camp. My mom signed on as a coach and we spent the next 4 summers playing ball and living for a week or 2 in the Fordham dorms.

When I was 13 years old, I fell out of a chairlift while on a day long ski trip. The 30 foot fall snapped my arm in half. When the orthopedic surgeon determined that surgery to insert stell plates and screw was the only way to stabilize my arm, I didn't flinch. When he followed that with the fact that contact sports were off limits for at least 2 years, I was devastated. High school was just a few months away and he was effectively telling me that I wouldn't see playing time on a field or a court.

A few years later, on the first day of college orientation, I turned around while in line for my ID to find Mary O'Reilly standing behind me. Mary and I had played on the same team one summer at camp when we were about 10. As we waited for our turn for ID photos, we began planning our intramural basketball team for that fall. My skills were rusty at best, but it didnt' talk long for my muscles to remember the mechanics and rhythms of the game.

In 2 weeks, I'll begin coaching my own team of 7th and 8th grade girls. I've never had to coach a team all by myself and I'm already racking my brain, trying to remember drills for practice and different offensive sets for games. I've been told that the girls don't have a solid foundation of basic skills, so I've been making lists of the drills I can remember that are designed to teach the basics of passing and rebounding, the art of the free throw and the mechanics of a lay up. Thanksgiving weekend will be spent discussing strategy with my mom and coming up with offensive plays that we can call "Holy Cross," "Syracuse" and "Duke." I'm planning a Saturday afternoon or two when I can bring my girls to watch the HC women play so that they can see what a tight zone defense actually looks like.

I'm not looking to win the league title or even have a winning record (though that would be nice!). In the end, I want to create an atmosphere for the girls to have fun, hopefully learn a little and laugh a lot. And honestly, I can't wait to be back on a court with a ball in my hand helping to make that happen.

Thursday Thirteen

1. I have to work for part of this weekend.
2. Before I help with a black tie event Saturday evening, I'll be getting a haircut.
3. I'm not sure how much of a haircut I'm getting.
4. I love taking pictures. (I'm sure this shocks you all!)
5. This week, I bought some frames and ordered some prints...soon, they will be on my walls.
6. My blank walls are driving me crazy.
7. I'm going to Denver from Tuesday until Saturday for work.
8. While I'm there, I'll visit with a friend from home--I haven't seen her in 4 or 5 years.
9. My cousin Amanda is coming in from Australia for Thanksgiving.
10. She's bringing her 6 year old daughter, Yasmin.
11. Amanda is quite ill, but hopefully I'll get a good visito or two in with her and with Yazzie.
12. My cousin Hannah will be home from South Carolina too.
13. It's time for bed.

Happy Anniversary to us

25 years ago on Halloween night, a woman knocked on our front door. My parents had just moved their little family (2 1/2 year old and 8 month old little girls) from New Rochelle, NY to Ramsey, NJ on that very day. The woman at the door, AQ, lived 2 doors down with her husband, DQ, and their 2 kids. And so began our life in Ramsey.

Ramsey is a family town--there are 3 elementary schools, a middle school and a high school--plus a Catholic elementary school and an all-boys Catholic high school. We celebrate "Ramsey Day" every September--complete with a street fair and fireworks. There's an amazing park with 8 baseball/softball fields, 3 basketball courts, 2 tennis courts and a huge playground that the town built together one summer when I was about 8.

I grew up in that park. My dad played in a summer Sunday softball league for about 12 years. He joined the summer after we moved to Ramsey at AQ's husband's suggestion. It was a team of men in their 30s, for the most part, so there was a whole flock of kids under the age of 8. There were barbeques and pool parties, playdates and new additions. My first best friends were boys from this group. As we got older, my sister and I became the big kids who escorted the little ones to the playground and supervised so that the moms could talk and watch the games. Later, I played softball myself on those fields. Ramsey's recreational sports program is enormous--my parents spent weekends of their lives at soccer, basketball, softball, baseball and football games (and swim meets too). My parents served as coaches for our baseball, softball and basketball teams. My siblings and I grew up walking to the Catholic elementary school across town and riding our bikes to the stores on Main Street or over to our friends' houses. My brother and his friends could walk into town for bagels, sandwiches and baseball cards by the time they were eight years old--it was just that kind of town.

I'm not sure if my parents intended to stay in Ramsey for so long, or if they really knew the kind of community they had chosen. I do know that I'm eternally grateful for their decision and the life it gave me. It was the perfect place to grow up. It's a town where you wave at least 3 times as you drive down Main Street because you see people you know. When I come home for a visit these days, I bump into old friends at church and in the supermarket. The guys who run the deli and the pizza place know who I am and ask how "mama" is doing these days. As for my parents, I think they're pretty happy with their choice too--when I talked to my mom last night, she was headed out to the bar for a glass of wine with a friend from town. And yesterday she was able to say "Happy Anniversary" to the woman who came to our front door 25 years ago Halloween night with a casserole--AQ is the 2nd grade aide at my mother's school.

Magic Happens There

As we walked up the hill from our offices on Friday afternoon, my friend and colleague JD looked at me and said, "You're living life right." I had just told her of my weekend plans--to gather with old friends and new in a cozy living room in a big yellow house in Northampton.

I thought a lot about JD's comment this weekend. When I sit in that living room, pen on paper, I revisit a time in my life that was lonely and miserable. I felt isolated partly because I was--both physically and emotionally--and partly because I didn't know how to seek out connections in that strange city.

When I moved to MA last summer, Nerissa suggested that I join a writing workshop and I figured, "What the hell?" I never expected to discover the safety, security, community and joy that I've experienced in my writing workshops. So, I keep coming back--I delve deeper and deeper into my three years in L.A. All the while I am mindful of the fact that I'm making up for lost time. I am taking advantage of an opportunity that makes me happy and whole and leaves me "under the influence."

I'm going to fall in line behind *A* and give you a "top ten" weekend recap:
1) Team George. Rematch in March?
2) The hootenanny at kj and jb's house.
3) Songwriters...what a fabulous addition to the group!!
4) The power blowing out in A & my room on Sunday morning.
5) Seeing 3D (shy) versions of Charlotte and Iris.
6) Successfully fitting 11 of us (plus Lila) around the dinner table for family dinner on Saturday night.
7) Wandering through "Faces" with A & N on Saturday afternoon.
8) Thai food on the way out of town on Sunday.
9) Lila (c'mon, she had to make my top 10)
10) The exciting, fresh and totally outstanding writing that came out of this weekend from all of our pens and guitars.

This past weekend couldn't have been more perfect. It was the reunion I'd been waiting for with my January friends--with some perfect additions to the crowd. I look forward to our March reunion.

T13: Big Yellow Edition

Here's what I'm looking forward to...

1) Seeing kj, A, N and M!!
2) New people with new writing
3) Tea and Cookies
4) NFN's cooking
5) Lunch at the Brewery
6) Saturday afternoon freedom in Noho
7) 3D versions of Charlotte and Iris (and Eli too)
8) Testing a new motel (am I *really* looking forward to this?!)
9) Hearing the brilliant writing of wonderful people
10) Sweet Lila girl
11) Seeing N's Gatsby Girl
12) Crazy amounts of laughter
13) It is worth repeating--a WHOLE weekend with kj, A, N and M!!

Tuesday 13

A little late on the Thursday 13! I went home on Wednesday night for a visit with the Irish cousins. We had a grand weekend--lots of family, food and some NYC sightseeing to boot.

1. The Irish cousins have replacement knees, hips and shoulders.

2.
Therefore, we took an aquatic tour of NYC on this boat.

3.
We saw the Empire State Building (it was a grey day, but fairly warm and not raining).

4.
And the Statue of Liberty.

5.
We came up on the south side of Manhattan.

6.
And under the Brooklyn Bridge.

7.
The World Financial Center with the restored Wintergarden Theater in between--my dad's part of the City.

8.
No trip is complete without a stop at St. Pat's!

9. All a far cry from home for them.


10. Friday night, we went out to dinner in Gramercy Park.


11. Notice the picture of Gregory Peck hanging over the table. I love Atticus Finch.

12.
The whole group at Saturday night's dinner party.

13. The group includes cousins and 2 women who traveled to Ireland with my mom in the early 70s.

Weekend happenings

I am still in recovery mode from a non-stop weekend. It was, however, just what I needed after a particularly trying week at work. This week isn't much better, so I'm grateful for a fun and chaotic weekend.

Friday night, I decided at the last minute to join a few work friends on a jaunt to wonderful Northampton, MA. Our VP's son and his band (Okkervil River) played the 10 PM show at the Iron Horse. We met up with some of Meg's friends for thai food, then wandered over to the IH. I'd NEVER seen such a line--going in both directions, up and down the street, wrapping around into parking lots. The boys had played Buffalo the night before and due to 2 feet of snow, had a tough time getting out. So they were just arriving at 9:30 when doors were supposed to open. We stood out in the cold for an hour and the show didn't finish til 2 AM, but it was fun. A different sound than I'm used to, but I really liked it and the venue was perfect.

Saturday, after sleeping in due to a 3:15 am homecoming, I went to my friend Kelley's wedding. It was in Andover, MA and it couldn't have been prettier. Kel's mom died soon after Kelley graduated from HC, so it was a little bittersweet, but Kel and her husband seemed very happy. We danced the night away to some of the best music I've ever heard at a wedding. I generally hate dancing, but it was well worth it.

Yesterday, I traveled with my friend Bethany to New Haven, CT. Since I missed N&K at the Iron Horse on Saturday night, I made up for it with their New Haven house concert. It's become my favorite show of the year. 25 or 30 of us packed into a tiny living room, surrounded by wonderful music. Lots of new songs that made me anxious for the new CD release. It won't leave my cd player for months, I'm sure. Perfect way to end the weekend.

As if that's not enough, as N reminded me earlier today, in 11 short days I will see many of you. I'm just giddy. I will miss those of you who are not there dearly, though!

T13

Sorry I've been MIA. Work has been absolutely crazy and I'm pretty spent. I will try to catch up on your blogs tonight and tomorrow night. I'm thinking of you all though...and getting increasingly excited for the Big Yellow retreat. 15 days!

1. I bought a 6-pack of Blue Moon last night.
2. Since I don't have roommates to drink/eat my stuff anymore, the remaining 5 bottles should last me til Thanksgiving.
3. I love the fall.
4. I'm going to my 2nd wedding as many weekends on Saturday night.
5. The director of the Chaplains' Office at HC is one of my favorite people in the world.
6. We scheduled our first lunch of the school year for the Friday of retreat weekend--great way to start if all off.
7. Next week, my grandmother's cousins are coming from Ireland for 5 days--they've never been to the States. I'm psyched to see them.
8. Thanks to my parents, my apartment now has a love seat in the living room.
9. After boiling pasta for dinner last night, I realized I had neither tupperware for the leftovers or a colander to drain the ravioli.
10. In using the top to drain the water, I dumped half the pasta down the drain. That solved the leftovers problem.
11. I ordered new stationery this week.
12. The cards are handmade by my youth minister from high school. Weehah! Cards
13. Let's Go Mets! (I'm still a (depressed) Yankee fan, but in their absence, I'll pull for the Mets)

quick check in

Ah, October is here. As I drove out to Noho on Monday night, the sunset was incredible and the light on the trees along the Pike was breath-taking. The leaves are beginning to change and the sunset cast them all in a golden glow. It's going to be a busy month (2 weddings, a huge work event, visit from Irish relatives and a fabulous BY retreat)--but I'm psyched.

Yesterday was my parents' 30th anniversary. Monday night's prompt got me thinking and I wound up writing some of what I've learned about love from my parents. NFN called it a prescription for love...whatever it is, I thought I'd share.

*You can never have too many friends. Make them at every opportunity. Throw parties where you bring those you’ve known for 10 days, 10 years and 40 years together in one place. It’s important to have friends who make you laugh, friends who will jump in front of a bus for you and friends who will sit up until 1 AM, with a bottle of wine, to plan a funeral with you.

*Be there for the little things. Coach your daughter’s basketball team and your son’s baseball team. Take a Saturday to go to Jones Beach. Make a fool of yourself to make your child-or your spouse-laugh.

*Support each other. When my father gets up at 5 AM to catch a train into the city, my mom is there with him—every day for 30 years. My mother decided to go back to school for her doctorate last year. Just when my father thought he was through with tuition, he began again.

*Smile a lot. Hold hands. Enjoy each others’ company. Take long walks on the beach. Eat dinner together. Have date nights. Ski, swim and bike tighter. Do your own thing every once in a while. Laugh.

a late 13...moving day edition

1. I sign my lease in less than an hour.
2. It's at a different apartment than I thought it would be last weekend.
3. I hate feeling unsettled.
4. I cry when I am frustrated--pretty much the only time I cry.
5. So, there have been some tears this week.
6. When a coworker came to check on my progress on Tuesday, I almost burst into tears just talking about being frustrated and unsettled.
7. She gave me a hug and burst into tears herself.
8. I'm grateful to have people to lean on and who lean on me in return.
9. My car is currently packed to the gills.
10. After I sign my lease, I'll be unloading my car, driving back to the house and loading up again.
11. My father and uncle arrive tomorrow morning to help move my bedroom furniture.
12. It will require a uHaul rental.
13. Is it Monday yet?

cheat post

My writing from tonight...more real stuff tomorrow, I hope. You should know that this is "Sara's" story...just from the first person point of view...switched it up tonight.
*** *** *** *** ***
I should have known better. The far-end of my classroom is cluttered with boxes in various stages of paper mache and paint. Some stand 3 boxes tall, others are in pieces. All of them block the path to my desk--and to the lockers where my students store their backpacks and sweaters. There is a bin filled with newspaper and half-empty bottles of starch and another bin filled with paints, brushes and rags. I really should have known better.

Two months ago, Nancy--the 7th grade teacher, fellow coach of the middle school girls' basketball team and general partner-in-crime--approached me with an idea--a project our classes could work on together--totem poles. It would be an art project and a writing project combined. After all, totem poles were supposed to tell a stories. I hesitated from the get-go because art is far from my strong suit, but Nancy--B.A. in art in-hand--assured me that she would take care of that end--she would supervise the construction of the totem poles from boxes, through newspaper tearing, starching and paint. And, having temporary amnesia, I agreed.

I agreed even though just a few months earlier, we had been ear-deep in another of her crazy projects. Each year during Lent, classes were paired up and responsible for a dramatization of the Stations of the Cross. Most grades simply read through the stations while acting them out. The classes took a week to practice their renditions during religion time and in the half hour before dismissal. Nancy, of course, had a better idea for the 7th and 2nd grades. She took the images from my Stations of the Cross coloring book and, using overhead projectors, had her students trace the images onto 9' x 9' paper. All 14 stations were then painted cooperatively by the 2nd and 7th grades. This took the better part of a week and a half to complete. Once the painting finished, Nancy cut each 9'x9' rendering into 9 separate squares. Preparations moved from the gym floor to the church. As each station was read, my 2nd graders came out to re-enact the scene. As they did so, 9 of Nancy's 7th graders flipped up the squares--sports arena style--to reveal corresponding station. We rehearsed endlessly--Nancy was a perfectionist and this was going to be the best presentation ever. When her "flippers" complained that they were tired, Nancy shot back, "Jesus died on te Cross, you didn't hear him complaining. Suck it up!" She was a little too into it.

So, as I said, I should have known better. But I agreed to the totem pole project--now referred to as Totem Hell (by me, not the kids). The totem pole stories had been an adventure in themselves, having 7 year olds and 13 year olds as co-authors--genius! Now that the stories were complete, each animal in the story needed to be reflected on the totem pole. Boxes were stacked and taped together, beaks for eagles and snouts for bears were construced and taped into place. Nancy's promise to run this leg of the project is a distant memory. Every time we start to work on the totems, she's called into a meeting.

So it's me, 70 kids and 35 totem poles every day in the parking lot. I've never really paper mache'd before and bottles of starch are being knocked over on the blacktop at an alarming rate. One night, I actually bought out K-Mart's entire stock of liquid starch.

At the end of each day, Totem Hell gets returned to my classroom--I'm not sure who's decision that was. But the school year ends in 2 weeks and I'm determined to finish every one.

Relief

I am 99% sure that I have an apartment. I think I'll be signing a lease on Monday. I love the place...it's teeny tiny, but since I'm the only one living there, it's fine. I'm signing a 6 month lease because it's street parking and on the first level on a main street. If either of those become a problem, I don't want to be stuck for a year. In 6 months, I'll likely sign another lease, probably for a year. I will email you all the website where you can see pictures. I love the fact that it has character. The previous tenant painted, so the kitchen is a burnt pumpkin, the living room is a sunny yellow and the bedroom is a sage green. There's a working woodburning fireplace that is original to the building from the 1920s and a pretty stained glass window in the living room. I could start the move in as early as next Tuesday!

In other news, my mother is beside herself with excitement. Cousins from Ireland (in their 70s) are coming for a visit in October (thankfully not Big Yellow weekend!)--they've never been to the U.S. My mother spent 3 summers with them when she was in her early 20s and I've spent time with them on both of my trips to Ireland. I can't wait to see them and to spend some time showing them NYC. John is a vet and was a world-class equestrian/jumper back in the day. He and his wife Eileen are delightful and hysterical. My brother was named for John--his surname, Blake, is Ryan's middle name. So, my mom's pretty happy and so am I.

I also booked my November conference in Denver. 4 days that I'm "working" but not in the office. It's the week following our on-campus, black tie campaign celebration, so I'm sure I'll need the escape.

This weekend, I'll catch up with a T13 and maybe even a Friday 10.

T13

Hello all. I'm sorry for my lack of blogging--I have tried to comment on all of your blogs though! Work is a bit crazed at the moment, but in a good way. The apartment hunt has come to a shuddering halt because I have no time to look and I'm really discouraged by what I've seen.

**disclaimer--the following is a grammatical mess. I am too tired and too grumpy to care.**

1. Fall is arriving in MA.
2. This means sweaters--and I love sweaters.
3. I had a massage yesterday.
4. It felt nice in the moment, but I'm pretty tight and pained again already.
5. Maybe I need to think about a chiropracter--I haven't been since high school.
6. I think falling 30 feet out of a chairlift and landing on my feet screwed with my back permanently.
7. Some friends at work are going through really tough times right now.
8. The feeling of helplessness that leaves me with is one of my least favorite things in the world.
9. For her birthday, I am giving one of these friends a free night of babysitting--she and her husband can get out and enjoy an evening--I'll play with their boys and their puppy.
10. I'm terrified that I'll walk into BY next week and freeze--that I'll have nothing to write, because right now, I have NO clue!
11. I've always been very extroverted, but lately, I've noticed myself hanging back and staying quiet more and more.
12. I'm looking forward to catching up with Grey's Anatomy season 2 this weekend.
13. This past year, in this job, in this state, with the activities I've been involved in (like BY) has been the happiest since I graduated from college.

cross your fingers, please

The apartment hunt continues. I went to see a place last night--the location is GREAT, but the apartment was old. Appliances were new, but the wallpaper, paint and ceiling tiles needed major attention. And they are asking the same price as some of the "brand new" place I've seen! My friend at work told me today that her grandmother lived in the building 30 years ago--and I honestly don't think they've repainted since! I'm going to see another one tomorrow in a condo complex. I like the location, the woman who owns the condos that I'd be renting seems very very nice. Cross your fingers that it works!

On the bright side, NFN just sent out an email to my Monday group and I am beyond excited. It also made me giddy for October. Can't wait to see some of you!

finally!

Blogger works. I head home to NJ for the weekend tonight, but I'll be back for work on Monday. No, HC is not closed on Labor Day--yippee ;) I can't wait to go home. This apartment hunting is sucking the life and joy out of me. I am so frustrated by the limited market in this area and lack of affordable, SAFE options. I just want to move already. Have I mentioned that I'm impatient?

Enough of that. It's September! Welcome to fall. It's the month I will return to my cozy spot on a floor in Northampton, even if I remain apartment-less.

And it's Friday. You know what that means. The iPod is DJ and no apron-wringing!

1. when i reach the place i'm goin' (the verdant mile)--tracy grammer
2. yesterday (1)--the beatles
3. preston miller (flower of avalon)--tracy grammer
4. one man wrecking machine (ganging up on the sun)--guster
5. hey conductor (tanglewood tree)--dave carter and tracy grammer
6. this is where it ends (born on a pirate ship)--barenaked ladies
7. ruby falls (ganging up on the sun)--guster
8. just like that (remembering rachel)--dar williams
9. hope alone (become you)--indigo girls
10. you may be right (essential collection)--billy joel
Bonus: what do you hear in these sounds (end of the summer)--dar williams

General Thoughts--A great set. This week, my iPod clearly fell for Tracy Grammer's voice, and really, who can blame it! I don' think there's a bad song here.

Seen Live--Tracy Grammer, Guster, Dar Williams, Indigo Girls, Billy Joel

Favorite Album--There are some great ones here...I'm having trouble deciding between Flower of Avalon and Tanglewood Tree. Dave Carter has definitely become one of my favorite song writers.

Favorite Lyric--And I thought that if we met, I would only start confessing/And they'd know that I was scared/They'd would know that I was guessing/But the wall came down and there they stood before me/With their stumbling and their mumbling/And their calling out just like me