Should I get a nifty new bike or a nifty 30 GB iPod?

Both would be useful in a variety of ways, including transportation sans paying for gas, getting exercise OR the ability to record my voice lessons digitally, having a fun little gadget to play music with, etc...

(Obviously each of those advantages apply to the bike or iPod separately.)

What do you think???

(e:Mike) and I saw X-Men 3 last night. I really love those movies. I mean I have not seen any of them more than once, in the theaters when they came out, but I always really like them. I think they are just so exciting and you never know what those crazy mutants are going to do. And I thought this for sure was the last one but they totally hinted at making a fourth, which I would be very okay with.

(e:Mike) is not crazy about these movies, I guess he would rather watch people get eaten alive. GROSS!!! Why have I never heard of this Grizzly Man movie?!?! It reminds me of Open Water but it's ACTUALLY real?! Ahhhhhhh...!!!!

Less than a week of school left.

Still no Ipod, and the kid who saw the crime happen is refusing to sign a statement, which means I don't know if the kid will get any more punishment than an out-of-school suspension. That really sucks.

But what doesn't suck is that today I get a yummy catered lunch for the teachers! And I only have to teach 2 classes and we are probably watching movies! And what also doesn't suck is summer is almost here and I can't wait!

So yesterday as I was about to leave school, I realized in alarm that my Ipod was no longer hooked up to my computer as it definitely had been that morning. I panicked and started looking everywhere I could think of and sure enough it was nowhere to be found in my classroom. So I went to the office and reported it to the secretaries and principal. I knew that if it had indeed been taken, it must have been a middle school student but that's all I knew because I had had kids in and out of my room all day.

So the principal (who is really scary to talk to) came in this morning and told me that they had called down students one by one and through interrogation, they figured out that my Ipod had indeed been stolen by a 7th grade student. I had to go down to the office just now and sign a statement about it. The kid is probably going to get arrested and I'm assuming I may get some money for it? I know the kid will get fined but I have no idea if I get anything. They think the kid may have erased everything off of my Ipod as well. Best case scenario, all of my music was deleted, because I can get that back. Worst case, everything is gone, including all of my school work. They don't even know where it is right now.

I don't even know who it is but I have my suspicions. I feel like I should partially blame myself for letting the little jerks work in groups around the classroom and not paying attention to everything. I know I shouldn't think like that but I always blame myself if things like this happen. Well anyway, I hope I don't see that student in my classroom again and while I don't wish anyone harm, I hope he gets taught a lesson, and I hope I get my stuff back.

Ugh :(

So around 2:50 this morning, a car alarm from a car parked on my street began going off. It was the kind of car alarm that had a variety of annoying alarm sounds in a little pattern that goes on a continuous loop until it is turned off. This particular car alarm did not stop going off for approximately five and half hours. No one on my street got any sleep and the police, who were called a few hundred times, apparently could do nothing to stop it. Around 8:35 am, the owner of the car was dropped off down the street and walked just close enough to turn it off, then ran into a friend's house right down the street. Good thing because at least 10 of my neighbors and I were out on our porches or lawns, contemplating the possibilities of smashing a window, ripping the hood off, having it towed, and having the owner killed. So at least he made a run for it. But he didn't get away with it totally...just before he left about half an hour later, we noticed (with joy) that someone had carefully placed some doggie poop front and center on his windshield. :)

Today was the last day of school for the high school kiddos. Even though I have only known them for like 2 months, I actually got a little teary watching their senior video. Maybe it was becuase it reminded me of our high school graduation and how far we've come since then! I will miss the kids a lot. I think I won many of them over in the end. I even made a couple appearances in the video!
So from now on all I have is middle schoolers. Blahhhhh. But only a week and 2 days. This job has really flown by. I wonder if I will be around next year? I had reservations about it because I didn't know if I would get any benefits by not being full time, but the high principal just told me that they would love for me to stay and that the job would include full benefits. So that is very enticing!!!

Memorial day at my house is such a good time. The parade, the food, the friends. That's really all I want to say.

What does everyone else do for the holiday? I feel like unless you have a parade that goes right down your street, no one really does much for Memorial Day except be excited that you don't have to work.

Pretty much every morning when I wake up, I have no desire to go teach. Every day I hope that there will be a half day I forgot about, or an assembly, or a snow day...is this unusual or potentially bad? I mean not a lot of people like their job but seriously every day I think to myself that I would rather just not teach. Even if I think it will go well (which it usually doesn't, haha...), I know that I would much rather just go back home and do something else. I wonder if this means I chose the wrong profession...probably not. I can see that it is hard to look forward to something that you don't think you have gotten the hang of or feel totally sucessful at yet.

How many other people feel this way in the mornings???

It's been awhile folks. First of all, go Sabres!!!!! How exciting would it be if we won the Stanley Cup. I think maybe the best part of it would be that (e:Mike) and I would have an excuse to play the Ricky Martin CD a lot more - Cup of Life, of course, but we may let the CD run to hear a Spanish Hercules song or two...

As (e:Mike) already wrote about, we exercised our vast knowledge of rock music and tightness last night while munching on delicious cookies and freezing our buns off. Just remember when 'Swami' becomes the next rock and roll legend, we were responsible.

I am totally okay with not working very much this summer and being able to go visit people. I've already saved up a decent amount of money from my long-term job, so I'm okay with having a not-as-high paying job this summer. On my list of places to go (some day trips, some a bit more extensive)

- Colorado for my cousin's wedding
- Boston to see (e:Maureen)
- Letchworth to camp with a couple friends from school
- Long Island to visit a different friend from school
- Toronto for the day
- New York City...okay I probably won't go there but I haven't been there in awhile and I feel like we're due for a trip there
- The BEEEEEEEEEEEEACH

((e:Jessbob) I totally would put Albany on my list but I don't know if I'm ready to go back to Albany b/c of a certain somebody that lives there and that I would think of nonstop if I was there! I like Albany though. You should take a weekend and go hike in the Adirondacks. I do miss those mountains, if nothing else.)

Where else does anyone want to go this summer???? As I said I am way more interested in having a great time this summer going places rather than making a lot of money. Let me know!..........

i just conducted my first concert :)

First of all I slept in until 9:30 today. I realize to some of you that is not late at all, but I thought about and 9:30 is FOUR HOURS after I normally get up.

I also completed my first entire week of teaching on Friday. The first two weeks were all four day weeks, but this one was complete. Believe me I felt it. The whole week I've only gotten about 5 hours of sleep per night, so I was ready to sleep in. School is getting better in some ways, but I have a long way to go before I really get the hang of it. By a long way I mean like years. Ha. I don't expect to master the art of teaching at JFK, but I can improve on many things.

Last night was Fredfest. For those that don't know, that's a festival in Fredonia with a concert/carnival thingie and a lot lot lot of drunk people. Really it's all about the drunk people. I chose not to go, mostly because I spent 4 days in Fredonia last week, and also because I really just hate being there. People invited me to go but I know if I went, that HEwould probably be there and it would just make me uncomfortable and upset, especially if I was drunk. (I almost capitalized it to say "He" but then I realized that would look like I was talking about Jesus and I don't think Jesus would be at Fredfest). I saw him WAY too much that weekend. But I'm actually kinda grateful. Because I saw him so much, I really got to take a look at who he has become, and hear what other people think of him - not just my friends who would naturally tell me mean things about him, but others. They tell me he has become a pretentious SOB who walks and talks like he is the greatest thing. In other words, he thinks he's too cool for school. Whenever we would see each other at a recital or something, I refuse to be the first to initiate conversation, which means we wouldn't talk unless we were standing right to each other, because HE doesn't walk up to you, YOU walk up to him. He's too great for you NOT to. Anyway these are the combination of my observations as well as other people's thoughts. The two of us actually ended up hanging out with a bunch of other people on Friday night, and it plain old just sucked. I actually had to get up and go for a walk because I just couldn't stand being in the same room with him any longer. I don't think he could have appeared any less interested in what I was saying or made a bigger production out of himself, telling funny stories or jokes to make it seem like he was the funniest, best thing in the world.

So even though it sucked, at least now I know that I can be around him and really see him for what he is now and not what he used to be. And I hate being around him so much that I won't even try and act like I enjoy it or would attempt to hang out ever again. I may never even see him again. While I have mixed feelings about that last statement, I know that I will be totally and completely fine. Just being away from it all this past week has really made me feel better about everything. Separating myself from the past is really the best.

All of that actually isn't the reason I started writing about Fredfest. I was just going to say that it made me a little sad that no one called me from Fredonia to even see if I was hanging out. I did get one text message during the day from a friend I haven't seen since like January. We talked about hanging out this weekend because she would FINALLY be in fredonia. But I knew it would be in my best interest to stay away from the festivities. I do wish a teeny bit that people would have called to see where I was, but oh welllllllllllllll...

And ANYWAY if I had gone to Fredonia I would have missed Stick It!!! (e:Mike) and (e:Jill) I'm sure you did your hardest tricks but I hope you controlled them. ps I actually went to a movie and DIDN'T get popcorn. I don't think this has ever happened before. Let's go to another movie very soon so I can get popcorn! WITH LOTS OF BUTTER!

Have a good weekend everyone