For Will
As in Luker and, of course, the Bard.
I've started teaching
Romeo and Juliet again. This involves my favorite lesson! ... PUNS
A farmer had 2oo head of cattle. He thought he had 196 until he rounded them up.
A scarecrow had won every award and received every possible accolade: he was simply the best scarecrow ever. He truly was out standing in his field.
Old kings don't die, they just get throne away.
Resistance may be futile, but capacitance has potential.
There's warnings of a new disease found in soft butter.Apparently it spreads very easily.
They accused her of stealing the broach but they just couldn't pin it on her.
And lastly, in honor of Kate,
Do bakers with a sense of humour bake wry bread?
Blues Clues
Yesterday purple otters, today blue dogs. I have this green striped shirt that I wear a lot. Apparently I resemble Steve Burns, the host of Blues Clues when I wear it. I dunno, you tell me. I guess the real question is, "How did they convince me to let them take this picture?" I suppose I was just feeling rather
amiable today... I was also told I look like Jim Carey. Om, OK,
whatever.
PB and J Otters
Yesterday during Yearbook, my students were discussing what to do with an extra page in the Faculty section- they suggested pairing teachers' pictures with famous actors, a separated at birth type thing, because the yearbook theme has to do with movies. They came up with some really good ones, but couldn't come up with anything for me. I was relieved.
Today, my editor informed that they would pair me with Jelly Otter. I said WHAT?! Jelly Otter, from the PB and J otters on Disney Play House- the older sister. I had to google them. OK, sure. I resemble an cartoon sea mammal; the purple one, I'm guessing. The best part is, the otters dance. Something about "The Noodle Dance," among others. You can at least listen to the song at this
Disney Page.
There is no other stream
When I chose the title of my blog, it really was this spontaneous, choose-something-without-too-much-thought thing. But its really growing on me. That God's grace is sufficient is the thing that I most need to know everyday. When I was introduced to Reformed Theology in college, I readily assented to it, at least intellectually. There are numerous hard truths to swallow in it, but somehow, I can accept on faith that God is wholly sovereign over this fallen world in the fullest possible sense of sovereignty, yet is not responsible for evil and I am not merely a puppet. Yet I struggle to believe, really
believe, that God is good, that Christ's atoning work is sufficient and that in Christ, he looks on me without condemnation, with love ALWAYS.
I was reminded of it yet again today- proof that God is merciful to me, that he continues to show the reality of his love, no matter how long it may take me to learn it. Psalm 81 is my favorite psalm- it reflects God's love over time for his people, their constant turning away from him to idols, and his desire to give them good things if they would only repent... Kind of like my life.
Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule of the God of Jacob.
He made it a decree in Joseph
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known:
"I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
"But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
On to the title of my post. I turn to so many idols- my independence, my friends, my ability to fix things, the pursuit of "fun"- but none of these things satisfy. I pursue them harder and harder and they always leave me empty. The sermon this morning concluded with my favorite passage from The Chronicles of Narnia, from
The Silver Chair. If you haven't read all of them, you must!
"Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion.
"I'm
dying of thirst," said Jill.
"Then drink," said the Lion.
"May I-- could I-- would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realised that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
"Will you promise not to-- do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill.
"I make no promise," said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
"
Do you eat girls?" she said.
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
"I daren't come and drink," said Jill.
"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.
"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."
"There is no other stream," said the Lion.
Sweetwater Creek
Once, when I was in LA (actually, Santa Monica), Sarah and I hiked a mountain by accident. Today, Kate, Laura, and I went hiking on purpose. We went to Sweetwater Creek State Park. It rained a little while we were there. We didn't get too wet, but Kate counted precisely 2,
847,632 raindrops that fell on her.
We saw the ruins of a textile mail which was burned during Sherman's march on Atlanta during the Civil War. It was pretty neat except that there was a fence around the whole thing so you couldn't get inside and go exploring. Rather disappointing.
Laura and Kate did some exploring off the beaten path. There was a sign that said "Keep off the millrace," but I don't know what a millrace is, so I don't know whether or not they obeyed.
We also figured out how to use the self-timer on my three year old camera. I bet you can guess which picture we
took with the timer!
We had a lovely day.
On the drive home, I passed Six Flags. They're building a new roller coaster! (Of course, I still haven't ridden the old newest coaster, in 4 summers of trying). This one had 3 huge hills already, all 3 higher than any other existing ride. I'm excited! I love driving east into Atlanta on I-20. Its my second favorite view of the Atlanta skyline, because you can see the
whole skyline, Buckhead to downtown.
Saturday the 14th
There was this horror movie I really like when I was a kid called "Saturday the 14th." I use the word 'horror' loosely- it was super-cheesy, which is right about the level of horror that I can handle, even now. The gist of the movie was that even the day after Friday the 13th is terrible and scary and all those superstitious things. I'm not superstitious, but yesterday was unusually terrible.
My students are entering an essay contest sponsored by the Optimist Club whose topic is "My Future is Bright Because..." (As an aside, it wasn't until Monday when a student asked if there was a club for pessimists that I realized the Optimist Club is actually a club comprised of those who view the proverbial glass as half full. Yes, I am blond.) It was pulling teeth to get them to brainstorm some ideas why their futures are bright. Mind you, these are gifted, highly talented in many realms kids. Once we got past their cynicism toward high school and false modesty, it seemed as if we were going somewhere. Until I saw 2 students on the verge of tears. Two of my brightest kids (who granted, do have rough home lives) could not come up with a single thing that made their own future bright for any specific reason beyond the general ones we had listed. Many of my other students continued to struggle to come up with reasons too. I was completely baffled that these kids were brought to tears over this. It really shook me up that they could have such low self-esteem and true understanding of their potential.
That was first period. They are also reroofing our building as most of the rooms on the third floor have at some point flooded this year. So, third period, they start working on the section of the roof directly above my room. Three people working, banging, while I try to engage a group of low achieving, struggling readers in a science fiction short story they care nothing about. Everytime someone starts to read, they start to bang. At last, I threw up my hands and told them to find something to do until the bell rings.
So that class ends and I go to find our tech guy because my father has offered to give me a computer to use for Yearbook because they are rolling out the computers from his office. I need to know if I can get it networked so that I can have it to use instead of the 8+ year old, virus-ridden, constantly spontaneously freezing up or restarting computers I presently have. He tells me no, its not possible. I am being given a functioning computer which would allow me to integrate the technology I am told to integrate into my teaching while the computers I have do not allow this, but I will not be able to use it. Yeah, that makes good sense. I was on the verge of tears I was so frustrated. I go into the workroom, sit down to eat lunch, and break the table as I sit down. Great.
During my planning, last period of the day, I begin to set up my electronic gradebook for second semester. Its finished, I've entered all the grades I have given so far this semester and... the power goes out. I have no idea whether or not they are recoverable because they power outage blew the network connection. Grrr...
The day did wind up on a nice note as I ate dinner at Cafe Alsace on the Decatur Square with Kate. Conversation with Kate is always refreshing and thought provoking. And we had some REALLY good food. Had we not stuffed ourselves on the first 3 courses and opted out on dessert, it could've been a four course meal. We had a cheese platter to start with, a splendid variety of French cheeses. I found a new favorite cheese- santonris, I believe it is called. I am going to trek to the farmer's market to see if I can find some. It was smooth and creamy, with the perfect amount of sharpness. Yum!
one of those nights
Do you ever have those nights where you just lie in bed all night, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, frustrated, waiting for the sun to come up so that you can justify leaving the bed? Or, in my case, waiting for the alarm to go off way before the sun comes up! One might think that such a sleepless night would be precipitated by having a lot on your mind. but such nights for me tend to be when I have NOTHING to dwell on. It has been about four years since I've had one of these nights and to sleep so little the night before second semester started was not particularly welcome.
I started the day off yesterday with quite a lot on my mind. Specifically what I said to Christy as I sat down at church was, "I feel like all the tenuous strings that hold my live together and give it the outward appearance of having everything together are about to snap with the least little impetus." I had quite the emotional whirlwind of a day, but by the time I went to bed my heart and my mind, at least on the conscious level, were at peace. And yet I could not sleep! I really cannot think of anything more frustrating (maybe the bureaucracy of the public school system) than lying in bed, exhausted, unable to sleep.
And so, I stumbled through the day today, praying for God's grace that I would not snap at the kids or be irritable with the silly things they do which normally amuse me. My prayers were answered with a smooth first day back, though I can hardly keep my eyes open now to type, and I will be going to bed
very early tonight...
unthinkable
I did something unthinkable last night... I went to bed with 5 minutes left on the clock in the Rose Bowl. USC had just scored to put them up 38-33 and I thought it was over. What crossed my mind was "This game hasn't really proven that one team is better than the other, no matter what the final score. Yes, one team will be the National Champion, but it has been such an excellent game that no one could really claim that one team had proven their dominance over the other." Even waking up this morning, my last day to sleep in before going back to work, and seeing how Texas had come back to win, I didn't regret my decision. Kindri commented to me that she was surprised I hadn't posted anything about FSU losing on field goals in triple overtime on Tuesday. It never even crossed my mind. I didn't have trouble sleeping after the game ended because I was so riled up as may have been the case in years past.
For the last couple of years, I've seen my declining attachment to watching college sports as a sign that I may be growing up. Its just not that important to me anymore. I would rather talk to friends, read a book, play football, than sit by myself and watch football. (I can hear Kate cheering!) The 2005 National Championship doesn't seem to have a lot of eternal significance in my mind. Football may be going the way that movies have gone in my mind- why pay $8 to sit in a theater with my friends and not talk to them? I always complain about not having enough time to do everything, yet I waste SO MUCH time doing things that later I may wish I had that time back. Football (dare I say basketball?) may be finding its way on to that list.
And, in case you were curious, I think that I have found that magic something. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I went shopping yesterday. And yes, I feel much more ready to return to work after my spending spree. Also, thanks for all of the wonderful poetry recommendations! Now my task is to work on defining what a poem is...
that magic something
I am waiting for that magic something to occur that is going to make me feel like my Christmas break is complete and that I am refreshed and ready to go back to work. I've got 48 hours for it to occur. I really don't know what it will be, and I have this little feeling that I'm not ever going to feel that way. Which is a bit tiring thinking about in and of itself. I really want to go back to work refreshed, feeling like I'm ready to start second semester with the same gusto that I started first. Of course, if I look back on August, I probably didn't start first semester with all that much gusto, having finished grad school on Friday and gone back to work Tuesday. Really, I've decided that "that magic something" which will make me feel refreshed and ready to go back to work is 2 more weeks of break so that I am bored out of my mind and want something to do.
I am so not there right now. Most of my other teacher friends went back to work today, so granted, there is no longer anyone for me to hang out with and waste time with during the day. But I still have quite a list of things I want to do... go to the High Museum, the Aquarium (don't think that's gonna happen), do some shopping, get some reading done for pleasure, play tennis, watch some movies, do some more shopping. Those are just normal things and I don't think that doing all of them would bring that magic fairy dust along with it that will make me really want to go back to work. Alas.
Maybe I should quit focusing on finding that magic something and just enjoy the 2 more days off that I do have!! I can hear you thinking to yourself, Yes, Courtney, that would be a good idea. OK, I will try then. But man, am I looking forward to summer!
I just bought some new books of poetry- Poetry 180 and its sequel, both compiled by Billy Collins, former US Poet Laureate. He has a website of contemporary poetry for high school students, a poem a day for the school year. Its in my links; you should check it out. I am always looking for new poems that really strike me the first time I read them, without really having to think about them. Even though I'm a literature teacher and its my job to analyze literature, I know that it really can kill the spirit of a poem. So, if you know any good poems that I should read, please tell me! Its hard to pick poetry to teach ninth graders! I'm looking forward to reading the new poems I have purchased. But (here's the super-nerd part of me... Am I type A?) I am also looking forward to cataloging them after I have read them.
What I mean is, when I'm writing lesson plans, I always have a hard time finding a poem that is a good example of imagery, or metaphor, or rhythm, all those good ol' literary terms. So I have decided to create a database of poems and catalog them according to their literary devices. And yes, this sounds fun to me. But, before I do that, I would like to share my favorite poem so far from Poetry 180 online. (I like it for its fabulous
imagery.)
The Bagel... David Ignatow
I stopped to pick up the bagel,
rolling away in the wind,
annoyed with myself
for having dropped it
as if it were a portent.
Faster and faster it rolled,
with me running after it
bent low, gritting my teeth,
and I found myself doubled over
and rolling down the street
head over heels, one complete somersault
after another like a bagel
and strangely happy with myself.
old wives tales
Don't expect my posting to continue with such frequency once I go back to work!
I was supposed to go hiking today. Erin just called, laughing a wee bit, to ask if I had gone hiking. Om, no. It's raining. Actually, it's even thundering. Somewhere back in the day of my (rural?) North Carolina upbringing, I learned the old wives tale that if it thunders in winter, then it will snow within 10 days.
I am usually one of the last people on earth to believe in such things, but in my experience, this one often proves true. And if not snow, then at least the South's version of snow... ice. The last time it really snowed in Atlanta (really snowed by Atlanta standards that is) was on my birthday 2 years ago. I recall thinking that morning that it had thundered within the last 10 days. About a month ago, it thundered and within 10 days it iced around here. That was when I learned that my car has a handy little light in the dashboard to let you know when your tires are slipping (as if it wasn't totally obvious that I was fishtailing!).
All this to say, since I didn't get to go hiking today, I do hope that it snows in the next 10 days.
2 Comments:
Where is Wes when we need him?
Where is a sentence with that many "w's"?
i'm Famous again!
here we go with the puns...I very distinctly remember this time last year, and many punny emails. lumped in with many cabin emails. oh dear, back in the days before gmail.
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