A little piece of advice from me to you: If you haven’t seen “The Lovely Bones,” don’t.  I pretty much just sat and cried for two hours, clinging onto Eric’s arm, wondering where I should wipe my nose.  The acting was fantastic, the cinematography was lovely, and the editing was done beautifully.  However.  It is very emotional (that is, if you don’t have a heart of steel).  I was looking at the story from the perspective of, “What if that were one of my students, or a relative, or a child?”  Eric said at the end of the film, “That would have been easier to watch if the girl didn’t look so much like you.”  Yeesh.  Glad I wasn’t thinking of that while watching her die!  (And no, that isn’t a spoiler – it happens in the beginning of the film.)

A fellow classmate went to her student teaching assignment this past Monday.  She is in a kindergarten classroom, and found one of her students showing his friends a bunch of call-girl cards he picked up while in Vegas with his family over the holiday.  He just wanted to “share with his friends.”

Just kidding.  I already have one man, and I don’t think he’s big on sharing.  But it was a nice rhyme.

This was such a great Christmas break!  There weren’t any grand trips involved, but it was a lot of fun, and very relaxing.  And, I made straight As.  I asked my dad if he was still going to pay me for every A, like he did when I was in elem/high school.  He is not.  Dang it.  That was the only reason I tried to get that GPA.

My birthday was on Jan. 1st, and as I’m sure you noticed, many people in the world chose to celebrate it by waiting up until midnight to ring in the first day of January.  All for me.  I’m so honored.  I actually did have a really great birthday, celebrating in San Francisco on New Years Eve, then going out to dinner with a bunch of friends on the evening of the 1st.  I also had a few oyster shooters…. I can’t get enough of those lately.

It was only marred the following day when I discovered that my cousin Steph, who had come to the dinner with her two little boys, went back home to find her house in the process of being robbed.  After her boys were back in the car, locked in with her mom, and 911 was called, Steph saw the car the thieves were using, with the keys in the ignition.  Steph went over and took the keys out.  The guys got away, but hopefully not for long.  The car was taken to impound.  Oh yeah, and shortly after Steph called 911, the owners of the beater car called the police.  Their car had conveniently been stolen earlier that night.  After Eric takes the bar, he’s gonna have to open a can of whoop-ass on these jackwads who think they can get away with robbing my cousin.

After having a dinner party at one of Eric’s friends’ houses in San Fran, we went out to an Afro/Brazilian club, where they had a live band playing samba music.  It was so much fun!  And Eric is a pretty good dancer, which made the night perfect.

My Aunt Carole had a surprise birthday party for my Uncle Mikey about two weeks ago.  This was a really big deal, because Mike is currently undergoing chemo treatments.  He’s been responding pretty well to the chemo, and doing SO much better, despite the reactions that chemo brings.  His hair is now gone, and I kept promising to get him a doo rag.  Well, for his birthday, I finally got one for him, and there are only two words to describe him: bad ass.

I’m not sure what inspired me to tie off the top into a little knot, but I think he’s looking pretty dope.

I returned to my 4th/5th class for the first time today, after being gone for the past 5 weeks in another classroom.  One student immediately walked up to me with two envelopes and letters.  They’re too cute to not share!  (Click below – scroll all the way down to see the envelopes.)

Letter to Kaylie

Letter to Eric

He requested that we both write back, and said if Eric didn’t, there would be trouble.

Here is one of my favorite photos from Thanksgiving…. nothing fancy, just a bunch of us sitting around, watching my grandparents open cards and laughing.

Well, the end of the quarter is near, at any rate.  I can no longer brag that I have 100% in all of my classes.  However, I did get 100% in 2 classes that started early and finished early!  That’s gotta be a first.  Panic mode has begun to set in, as I try to figure out how I’m going to get everything done that needs to be done by next Wednesday.  On Saturday, I have a big exam coming up for the state credential.  Luckily, I’m taking it early, so if I don’t pass, there will be another chance to take it in February, and again in April.  However, that also means more money.  I’m hoping for a one-time shot deal!

I had big plans to get a lot of studying done, as well as regular classwork, over the Thanksgiving holiday.  With an entire week off, I figured I’d have loads of time to study.  Turns out, not so much.  I feel so behind now, but it still feels do-able.  My latest most important hobby has been mapping out exactly what needs to be done by what time.  (Yes, I know how to have a good time.)  I’m a REALLY good procrastinator (hence this blog, as opposed to just studying), so the timelines are helping a lot.

Thanksgiving was awesome!!!  It was also my grandparents 60th anniversary, so a big celebration was thrown at my aunt and uncle’s house.  It was beautifully decorated – they really went all out.  There were about 50 people, and it was really fun to just be surrounded by relatives.

9 days until I’m done for the quarter!  Better get back to it….. boo.  But yay for being able to listen to Christmas music!  (Yes, I am that lame, and still enjoy holiday tunes.  Not the newer Backstreet Boy-type crap, but the traditional ones, Trans-siberian Orchestra, and of course, Charlie Brown’s Christmas.)

I love it when television media sticks to the really important issues.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-november-17-2009/submission-accomplished

Today, on his way out of town, Eric popped into the 2nd grade classroom that I’m currently student-teaching in. After I finished the lesson I was working on, my temporary resident teacher, Ms. Bradley, invited Eric to the front of the class to introduce himself and talk a little about himself (which just so happens to be one of Eric’s favorite topics). Eric told them about his job (an EXTREMELY simplified version of it), and a little about school. Ms. Bradley wanted him to talk about school, and how much fun college was. The kids got excited as Eric told them all the things you could do in college. “You can pick your classes to start in the afternoon, so you can sleep in every day.” “WHOOOAAA!!!! Coooooll!!!” They asked some very insightful questions. “Can you have toys in college?” “Can you play with friends in college?” But I think little Keri asked the most insightful question of all, showing how on-topic she can stay. “Does a tadpole turn into a frog?” Luckily, Eric just happened to know the answer.

Tomorrow will be my last day in the 2nd grade classroom. I have the entire week of Thanksgiving off (yaaaayyy!!!!), and then will return to my 4th/5th grade classroom for the remainder of the school year. I can’t wait to get back to them!

I have also come to discover that I need to teach at a school that doesn’t begin until 10 or so. That’s around the time I start to function, but really liven up around 11. If anyone happens to know of an elementary or high school with hours like that and could pass the info on to me, I’d appreciate it.