Once a Nerd Always a Nerd!
In 1987, Jacquelynne Eccles, a senior research scientist at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, asked 900 high school sophomores which of the five character types in the popular 1985 coming-of-age movie "The Breakfast Club" they most resembled: Jocks, Princesses, Basket Cases, Brains or Criminals . . . .

Scarey . . . Science says I'm doomed to be a nerd forever - although in High School I wasn't a very good nerd since I never qualified for AP classes or Honor Society - - - Sue S. made it into Honor Society even though she got caught cheating on several English tests and didn't take any math beyond geometry. (grumble grumble) Not that I was bitter or anything!! (grumble grumble grumble) I can't decide if Sue S.would be a Princess or Basket Case - - maybe a criminal?!? hhhhhmmmmmm . . . . I'm suddenly looking forward to a H.S. reunion!!!

An is is just a was that was and that is very small...And is is was so soon it almost wasn't is at all. For is is only is when it is a was-you see...And as an is advances-to remain an is can't be 'cause if is is to stay an is it isn't is because another is is where it was and is is then a was
~Tom Hicks

How to Get Into a Concert For Free
And Other Tips from Lara St. John

Generally the artist or conductor or whoever leaves a ticket or more under his or her name, for friends, at the �willcall" of the box office. A good idea is to get there a little earlier than the artists' friends and ask for the ticket under the artist's name. Like: "There should be a ticket for me under the name 'Muti'". Or perhaps, "I think Josh left me a ticket. Can you check under 'Bell'?" If there is not one, feign puzzlement and outrage, at which point the ticket guy will probably assume it to be an oversight and give you one anyway. If all else fails, announce huffily that you will check backstage and then go and have a drink.

So when I picked classes for summer semester, I purposely tried to schedule around Thursday evenings because that's the day the Dakota Valley Symphony rehearses. (And I really really really enjoy playing with them!) BUT apparently everything changes in the summer - all the rehearsals (and two concerts) are on evenings I have class (Not Thursdays!). WWWAAAAAAAA (AND I stupidly pinned all my hopes on a single internship opportunity, which is not working out like I had hoped - I might have to drop that idea). My summer is getting very boring. Pout ) -:

FABULOUS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!
* Kristie got married! (but enough about her . . . on to ME )
* I got a Maggie Moo's Ice Cream Cone (CinnaMoo with Strawberries - yummy!!)
* I got new brother to torment [insert evil laugh here!] poor Jim
* I got to surprise some old WDM buddies at lunch on Friday!
* I got to hang out with old students (which is really cool because they are fabulous people and it's nice they let me be friends with them even if I'm a 'ole boring teacher who's not around anymore!!)
* I got some quality time with a very dear old friend.
* AND that secret I've been keeping for months and months worked out beautifully!! (Hee hee! Dear �ole Dad has often joked that his daughters are worth at least 21 cows - and he looked forward to marrying them off so he could collect some serious beef!! Imagine his embarrassment when Jim handed over 21 plastic cows (complete with sound effects) wrapped in tuttle with a pretty blue bow!!) (Giggle giggle!! giggle!!)

I now have a MN teachers lisence (whop-de-doo!) Supposedly this means I'm more qualified today than I was yesterday (uh huh) and much more professional (take it back! take it back!) There are supposed to be a few perks for being licensed (besdies not getting in trouble with my principal) although, no one can tell me what they are. (It was so much more fun when I was a renegade rebel without a license!!)

As seen on a t-shirt . . . . . . . .

You're just jealous
because the voices only talk to me!

* Only two more months until Harry Potter #5 is released!! YIPEE!!
* My Tulips opened this afternoon YIPEE!!!
* Miller has come over to play today YIPEE!!
(it's a very very good day!!)

To be nobody but yourself
in world that's doing its best to make you somebody else
is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight.
Never stop fighting
~e.e. cummings

From Tracey Rush via the ASTA listserv

I just had a premiere this week of a work commissioned for the 5th Grade String Orchestra Festival of West Des Moines, Iowa. "Celtic Spring" is a lively, 2-1/2 minute jig with meter changes (a few 3/4 bars) and a little foot-stomping ala Riverdance. I honestly thought it might be too difficult for 5th graders (those nasty high 3rds and 4ths in the key of D), but they have excellent teachers who worked them hard.

Hey!!!! Those are MY KIDS (although I guess I really can't call them "mine" any more can I?)
Congraduations WDM teaching buddies!! It sounds like you had a fabulous festival (sniff! sniff! I'm almost jealous to have missed it!!)

From the local paper's police report . . .
Juvenile complaint: Report of an 8- or 9- year old girl pulling newspapers out of paper boxes and throwing them on the ground. Police warned the girl. She picked up the papers.
Trespassing compalint: The reporting party told police a woman was starting a fight. Police assisted. (hmmmm . . . assisted with what??)
And my favorite . . . . .
Juvenile complaint: Report of kids wandering in the middle of the street. Police were gone when police arrived. (That's a pretty good trick! And what's the world coming to!? Kids walking down the street. . . . there goes the neighborhood!)

Chris Rock Quote of the Day . . ..
You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named 'Bush', 'Dick', and 'Colon'. Need I say more?

GOODNIGHT, LITTLE HOUSEPLANT

Goodnight, little houseplant
Little house plant, good night.
Here's your glass of water.
Should I leave on the light?
Tomorrow in the morning
For breakfast we two
We'll have ham and eggs for me
And nitrogen for you.

Goodnight, little houseplant...
Tucked in your clay pot.
Be careful you don't catch
Huntington's Rot.
Remember, little houseplant
Stay away from those bees.
I've heard they may carry
A social disease.

Goodnight, little houseplant
Asleep on the sill.
I'll pull the shades
So you don't catch a chill.
Tomorrow we'll talk
Of the things that we did.
I love you, little house plant
Who needs women or kids.

by Fred Koller and Shel Silverstein.

Mysteries of the Universe Answered . . .
It takes 252 licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop!!

WHOO HOO! It's Spring Break!!!!!
I have . . . . 5 whole afternoons OFF! yipee!
3 whole mornings OFF! yipee!
4 whole evenings OFF (gotta go to class tonight - bummer!)
PLUS
A whole weekend without homework!! super duper yipee!!
What am I going to do with myself???

Spring Break began at 4:01 this afternoon!!!!!!! BUT . . . due to a severe case of spring fever (complicated by general procrastination and moderate disinterest) I'll be spending the next 71 hours chained to my computer banging out two big 'ole papers. If I survive I'll be back on Monday (if this blog goes quiet - blame Larry for the dumb assingments!!!)
On a side note - there should be a funny picture which fits my mood perfectly - up at the top of this post -I don't understand why it isn't showing up . . . hhhhhhmmmmmmm?!?!

UPDATE: [insert sigh of relief here] The BIG BIG paper is done!! (yipee!!) The other paper isn't due until Thursday (shoulda read the syllabus!!) yipee!! yippee! yippee!

Eeeeeeewwwww!!! I had Kindegardeners today. We always sit on the floor . . . today the carpet had a wet spot - and it's dark enough that the spot wasn't obviously visible . . . Wanna guess who sat in "THE" special spot???? (Luckily it happened just before dismissial so I could go home and change -- Unfortunately, it happened just beofre dismissal, so all the parents who pick up their kids got to see Ms. VW with a big 'ole wet spot on her butt!!)

I've got all the money I'll ever need
if I die by four o'clock this afternoon.
-Henry Youngman

Story time boys and girls . . . Once upon a time I went to college. In college, I met a couple of English guys who were studying in the US for a semester. They were as homesick as me and we had lot of fun. They introduced me to the music of Iain Archer, I introduced them to popcorn balls! Then they went back to England ) -: The End.

Fast Forward to last week. My taped copy of their taped copy of Iain Archer is old, stretched out, and finally sucomes to the fatal end when the tape player eats it - - BUT, through the miracle of the world wide web, I find his site and order the CD (after 8 years of listening to an illegal copy!!!) Keep in mind NO ONE in my world has ever head of this guy (excpet for the Three Muskateers from England!)

Fast Forward to today. I'm going through my normal morning internet routine . . . . and This Guy mentions hanging out with Iain Archer - Cool? Yes! Freaky? Very Much So! (This has got to be my 108th freaky experience in the last six months - but I like it!!)

Language bullying is on the rise. I blame George W. Bush. His status as both a genuinely poor speaker ("My education message will resignate among all parents") and the initiator of a widely unpopular war has made an interest in grammar fashionable again\. . . . Grammatical correctness has become political correctness.

Ode to Cult. Stud.
(sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice)
One more class,
One more class,
Un-til spring break
Un-til spring break
And then we won't have to be here no more
We'll have fun on Mondays and won't be so bored - in
One more class,
One more class

Inspiring isn't it? Tonight Larry mentioned that he has never watched an episode of The Simpsons. A few mintures later he said he'd never read a book by Jane Austin. I'm not sure which is the bigger cultural offense for someone claiming to "teach" Cultural Studies.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to
the community and that as long as I live,
it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can . . .
I want to be throughly used up when I die,
for the harder I work, the more I live.

- George Bernard Shaw

Nothing has gotten done today - - feeling very restless (something's bugging me, I wish I knew what!) and feeling rather day-dreamy. Not a good combination. Blah.

Elect me president of the world, and I will personally end this silly daylight savings thing where everyone has to change their clocks every six months (or at the very least I'll make the switch on a FRIDAY night instead of a Saturday night - - then we'd have two days to adjust instead of just one).

Graduate school is for people who are obsessed. It's for people who don't mind living in a cheap Vicksburg motel for the summer while they sift through the probate records of Mississippi slave owners looking for key dissertation material. Or those who relish reading tax textbooks into the night so they can stun their law professor with a cogent response to a trick question in class the next morning. It's for people who like the smell of chemicals, the sight of blood, or a rowdy debate on middle school pedagogy.

me??? obsessed????? Nah . . . .
(ok. maybe just a little a bit . . . )

One knows one is tired when one lays down for a 10 minue power nap, wakes up 4 hours later to realize it's bedtime, and STILL feels exhausted the next morning.

All The News That's Fit to Print
* Amy got engaged over the weekend!! (Congradulations Mrs. SuperTeacher!!)
* There is an arson-ist on the loose in my neighborhood! He has struck three times in the last three days (That's kinda exciting!)
* With hours to spare, I e mailed paper #11 to my advisor (I have a week and a half to write two more and I'm DONE DONE DONE for the semmester!)
* I mailed a resume to Free Arts Minnesota today. They have 5 internships avalaible, but we don't know how many other people are trying to land a place with them this summer (pick me!! pick me!!)
* Janey's not dead!! She called me last night!! (This makes me happy!) But she is going to quit teaching. (This makes me sad). Janey was a WDM collegue who moved to MN the same time I did. Her transition went much better than mine (That made me jealous!) AND THEN she landed a job I had applied for (Very Very Jealous! I didn't even make it to the interview stage). Right now she's on spring break (So now I'm off the chart jealous!!)
* Did you know if you type quotes by Moo Tse Tung into google, this site is the 4th one listed?? (I don't know if I should be excited at the "success" of my page, or really disappointed in google).

The story of Vedran Smailovic By Robert Fulghum
We all know that cellists seldom become civic heroes -- music doesn't affect wars.