Velkommen!

This weekend Toshi and I are going on an overnight trip to Solvang,
the Danish capital of the U.S., because I am going stircrazy here
between work and school.  I’ve gotta get out of here for a
bit.  Solvang is about 2 1/2 hours away … not a lot to do there
besides shop and eat (lots of danish, of course!) and everything closes
very early, but it will be nice just to be somewhere else for awhile.
We will definitely have some danish at Birkholm’s Bakery and pea soup
at Pea Soup Andersen’s (I know Toshi will love that place!) 

On
Saturday we are going to work our way home slowly with a stop in Santa
Barbara to peruse State St. and the pier.  Will be back with
stories and pictures … in the meantime, happy Friday!

————————————————-

Found this on a site a few weeks ago but didn’t really have time to do it … so here goes …

The iTunes Oracle



Put your mp3 player on random, then ask the question before going on to the next song.



1.  What do you think of me, iTunes player?

     Where’ve You Been – Kathy Mattea

   
(This one cracked me up — my iPod has been sitting idle for about a
month … [cue     Twilight Zone music here])



2.  Will I have a happy life?

    When You Dream – Barenaked Ladies

    (hopefully that doesn’t mean only in my dreams …)



3.   What do my friends really think of me?

       Crazy – Patsy Cline

       (Okay, iPod, that’s not funny!)



4.   Do people secretly lust after me?

       Clubland – Elvis Costello

       (there’s a club?! )



5.   What should I do with my life?

       Kids Wanna Rock – Bryan Adams

       (start a rock band with kids?)



6.   Why must life be so full of pain?

        Here Without You – 3 Doors Down

        (That one makes total sense, actually.)



7.   How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?

        Say You Love Me – Fleetwood Mac

       (Hmmmm…)



8.   Will I ever have children?

       That Old Feeling – Rod Stewart

       (Actually, I am feeling old … that clock is ticking )



9.   Will I die happy?

       Only time – Enya

        (So time will tell?)



10.   Can you give me some advice?

       Pump It Up – Elvis Costello

        (Hmmm — pump what up?)



12.  What do you think happiness is?

       Carnival – Natalie Merchant

       (Well, I do love the fair )



13.   What’s my favorite fetish?

        Everything – Alanis Morissette

       (Yikes! )

This one was really fun!  Wish I could do it again but I think that would take some of the “magic” out of it, huh?

I stole this from girlymac who stole it from someone else.  Thought this looked like much more fun than writing my paper.

47 Things You May Not Have Known About Me

1. What is your middle name?
Jean

2. What color underwear are you wearing now?
what underwear?  Just kidding …pink

3. What are you listening to right now?
the fans cooling the computers at the Verizon building across the street … and crickets

4. What are the last 2 digits in your phone number?
30 … the last four digits are the same for my home number and my cell number … weird, eh?

5. What was the last thing you ate?
chicken parmigiana and pasta

6. If you were a crayon what color would you be?
light green

7. How is the weather right now?
cool and breezy

 8. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
my doctor’s office … they won’t refill my prescription until I come pay big bucks for a useless 5 minute appointment

9. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
smile

10. Favorite type of Food?
depends on my mood … but generally any kind of Asian

11. Do you drink? (alcohol)
only very occasionally … alcohol just makes me sleepy

12. Do you smoke?
nope

13. Ever get so drunk you don’t remember what you did?
nope … see above … alcohol knocks me out before I even have a chance to get drunk

14. Hair color?
light brown indoors, reddish brown outdoors

15. Eye color?
 brown

16. Do you wear contacts?
no … just reading glasses

17. Favorite Holiday?
Thanksgiving

18. Favorite Month?
November

19. Have you ever cried for no reason?
Yes … many times

20. What was the last movie you watched?
Straight Story

21. Favorite Day of the Year?
Last day of school

22. Are you too shy to ask someone out?
yes

23.If you can say something to someone right now what would it be?
Moses, have you finished your homework?

24. Hugs or Kisses?
depends on the person … if he’s gross and smelly, then a hug is more
than enough, thanks … if he looks like Matt Damon, kisses definitely

25. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Vanilla

26. Do you want your friends to respond?
Not twisting any arms 

27. Who is most likely to respond?
Gee, out of all three people who read my site?

28. Who is least likely to respond?
see above

29. What book are you reading?
Systems, Strategies, and Skills of Counseling and Psychotherapy … yes, it is as fun as it sounds.

30. Piercing?
my ears since I was 3

31. Favorite Movie?
Lost
in Translation (what is he whispering?) … Life
is Beautiful… Amelie… Whale Rider… Coal Miner’s Daughter …
Shawshank Redemption … Little Women… Children of Heaven …
Chocolat … Good Will Hunting … Sound of Music … The Little
Princess (Shirley Temple) … Joy Luck Club … so hard to choose just
one.

32. Favorite baseball Team?
Angels

33.What were you doing before this?
wondering where Tai went … and procrastinating instead of writing my
paper that’s due on Thursday … hey, still doing that one

34. Any pets?
two fish … Orange Guy and Brown Guy (aka Hannibal Lector)

35. aim?
nope

36. Butter, Plain or Salted popcorn?
Kettle corn

37. Dogs or cats?
dogs … allergic to cats

38. Favorite Flower?
jasmine … I love the smell in the evening

39.Have you ever been caught doing something you weren’t supposed to??
yes … won’t share here since it would irrevocably change the way you view me

40.Have you ever loved someone?
Yes … many people.  If you mean “been in love” then yes … a couple of times.

41. Who would you like to see right now??
Yang

42. Are you still friends with your ex’s?? .
Yes, but sometimes I think that’s not the best idea

43. Have you ever fired a gun?
water gun only

44. Do you like to travel by plane?
Yes and no….traveling makes me anxious and long flights can be incredibly boring, but I love the feeling of take-off

45. Right-handed or Left-handed?
Right

46. How many pillows do you sleep with?
two

Hey, Tai … wha’ happened? 

We
just watched “The Straight Story” starring Richard Farnsworth. 
Ever since I saw him as Matthew in “Anne of Green Gables”, I’ve always
loved him … there was just something so kind about his face. 

It was a very touching movie … although a bit on the slow side. 
Of course, how fast can you tell a story about a trip that took six
weeks at five miles an hour on a 1966 lawnmower?   A definite tearjerker …  more so if you know Richard Farnsworth’s story.

The
side story is that Richard Farnsworth had been diagnosed with terminal
cancer and suffered through great pain throughout the filming of the
movie.  To escape his pain, he ended his own life with a
gunshot.  He was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for
his portrayal of Alvin Straight, but didn’t make it long enough to see
the ceremony.

Richard Farnsworth died on October 6, 2000 and is buried in a cemetery in the Hollywood Hills.

I
made it!  I am soooo glad this day is over.  The jump from
Back to School Night talk to a discussion of Earl the transvestite and
the “tranny train”  was not an easy one for my brain to make, but
somehow I managed.



A
big group of my former students came to visit.  It was so fun to
see them, but boy, did it make me feel old.  Some of them are
taller than me now, and when I said we should plan some kind of reunion
activity, their response was, “Yeah, we’ll have to get together and
party.”   Say what?  I’m not sure I’m ready to party with a bunch of seventh graders. 



Pursuant
to yesterday’s post, it was not a bad hair day, but my ear got attacked
by the straightening iron so I had to hold blue ice on it while I drove
to school tonight. Felt like a dork until I realized it just looked
like I was talking on the cell phone like everyone else.    Hair was a little flat, but I’ll give it another go tomorrow for picture day.  Say “cheese”!

Good night, all!  (or good morning as the case may be …)

Quote of the Day:

“Wait!  Hold still!  Just one more!” — my beloved grandpa (and probably a few people you know as well )

Okay
— so I deduce that we are not too interested in what’s going on in
the lives of my goldfish.  Who would have guessed? 

Hmmm … let’s see what I can share today …



I am dead tired, it’s HOT,
my students are being bozos, my room is nowhere near ready for Back to
School Night, I have a stack of papers to grade, and I have to read
pages and pages about Carl Jung tonight.  The good news is that
Lost is on tonight, so I have something to motivate me out of this
funk.  If I get enough work done, that will be my reward. 
Yes,  my life is indeed a thrill a minute!



My sister cut my hair
yesterday.  I had her do it in the dining room of my parents’
house instead of at the salon … that way it’s cheaper for me but she
makes more because she doesn’t have to go 50/50 with the salon owners
… plus, then she doesn’t have to style it because I just go home and
take a shower anyway. (Methinks Miss G. just wrote a humongous run-on
sentence!)



Anyway,
this was the quickest haircut yet, and I’m not sure whether or not
that’s a good thing.  Either she’s getting better, or I got a
crummy haircut.  I’ll know tomorrow when I straighten my hair so I
look more polished, less schoolmarm for Back to School Night. 
Plus, the district PR person is coming to take my picture since I am my
school’s teacher of the year, so I am killing two birds with one
straightening job.  My hair is currently falling out by the
handfull so no color this time.  I’m not sure what’s up with that; I just hope it stops before I look like Mr. Magoo.

Quote of the Day:

We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest.  We must learn to sail in high winds. — Hanmer Parsons Grant

Off to do some sailing …

    She was the captain of her maiden flights

    When times were better

    Skywriting with the smoke of life

    When times were better

    And now she wishes she could beat her wings

    And sail back on a innocent breeze

    Bring back the freedom of believing

    In the decency of anything

    She’s not afraid of sticks and stones


    She’s not afraid of thunderstorms


    She’s not afraid of smartbombs blowing


    The world in little pieces


    But she’s afraid of a life alone


    She is afraid of an empty home


    She is afraid that her faith has flown


    Afraid of losing memories
              
        — Mark Heard, “She’s Not Afraid”

Sometimes you’re rolling along just fine and suddenly out of nowhere
comes a speedbump … breaks your stride a bit, but then you pick
yourself up and keep on rollin’.  I’ve lived with it for more than
ten years, and I’ll live with it for decades more if I have to. 
It was worth it.  Anyway, thank you for breaking the fall a
bit. 

So now they are in side-by-side bowls so they can still visit but
without Orange Guy becoming a snack.  They miss each other …
just keep swimming directly opposite each other.  Orange Guy is
probably missing his buddy (codependent perhaps?) and Brown Guy is
probably missing his midnight snack, but I secretly like to think
better of him.  Maybe Orange Guy’s fins just shrank on their own
… you know, the dreaded fin-shrinking disease. 

I’m feeling so much better now that my cold is gone … ahhhh … full use of my nose again and no more fever!



I
can’t believe the weekend is over already!  I spent all night Friday
doing my emotionally-charged homework (7 single-spaced pages dredging
through family history/issues) for my class on Saturday … until 2
a.m.!  I had class all day on Saturday and was exhausted when I
got home, so today was my weekend.   It was spent doing laundry,
chores, and errands.  I still haven’t finished my planning for
work this week so tonight may be a late night.



This promises to be another busy week.   
We have Back to School Night on Thursday from 6 to 7:30 and then I have
to race over to my class which lasts until 10.  Now that’s a long
day!  The beginning of the week will be spent cracking the whip at
school to try to get some work done to put up on the walls.  Our
parents tend to confuse Back to School Night with Open House  and
expect to see the usual showcase; I will try to distract them with
cookies and punch! 

oh — and there’s a protected post …  if you’re on my subscriber list, you’re also on my protected list.

The combination of work and school is kicking my ass this week.   
And it just dawned on me that I’m paying $40,000 for the education
necessary to change to a career that pays less than half of what I’m
getting paid now.    ‘Nuff said.

I feel completely blech.  
I have a yucky cold and have not been able to breathe through my nose
for the past couple days … amazing how much we take our noses for
granted! 

It
didn’t help that we had a freak storm today … thunder and lightning
ALL DAY LONG!  Rain is not a teacher’s best friend, let me tell
you … 21 banshees cooped up inside all day means that by the
afternoon I am practically peeling them off the ceiling.  Add to
that the fact that it was HOT and thanks to the mugginess my naturally
curly hair was having a real party … and you get one grouchy
Kelly. 

In case you were wondering, I avoided the freeway this afternoon. 
There’s nothing worse than California drivers in the rain, and I didn’t
want to take my chances on a repeat of yesterday’s adventure.

Quote of the Day:

“The sun’ll come out tomorrow!” — Annie
Sheesh, let’s hope so.