June 2009

Please excuse my absence, I've been trying to stay sane with everything June has had me up to.


First, I had to keep my students entertained until the last day, which was a feat unto itself. The 8th had been checked out since the 1st of June, and I all but had to juggle textbooks for them to pay attention. When the last day finally came, I realized that I would definitely miss those kids, especially the ones that I had forged a connection with. I told one that I was planning on going to his high school graduation, and when I said that, he looked at me, and said, "do you really think I'll make it there?"

I said, "of course you will!" And his eyes teared up and he said, "okay teacher, I will see you there!"

I hate to sound cliche, but it's moments like that that seem to evaporate all the bad days. It has been such a great year, and I have learned so much. I don't think those kids realize how much they have taught me about patience, compassion, commitment, humor, and love. I owe them a lot, and will miss them next year.

My 8th graders

Good luck with everything, guys!

Also in the last few weeks, we've decided on a new apartment here in Corvallis, and are planning to move on my birthday, July 1st. It is going to be a big move for us, but I think we're ready. Also, we get to choose paint colors, and being the gigantic HGTV freak that I am, I am totally excited about that.

Finally, but most importantly, Evan graduated from Oregon State University on the 13th, with two degrees! One in Education and one in History, plus a teaching license. It was exciting to sit and watch him culminate these last five years of school. He has worked hard, and I could not be more proud of him! It's funny to think that we met as college freshmen, and are still together and facing new experiences as graduates. I can't wait to see what new adventures Life takes us on!

Evan in the sea of graduates

Apparently, OSU has a song that Alumni are supposed to know

Me with the new alum!

Congrats, Ev!

sing it to me, Ray

I love Ray Lamontagne, (evidenced by my going and buying all three of his albums because I couldn't stand to leave one behind) and I especially like this cover he did of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". I know, I know. I too, got so sick of that song during the summer of 2007 that I felt nauseous when it came on the radio, but Ray (we are on a first name basis; he just doesn't know it) puts a really great spin on it, and I can listen to it over and over, dramamine free.

The homestretch

That's what all the teachers call this time of year. I see it more like I've been climbing a mountain, and these last 5 weeks are like the super rocky, slippery part right before the summit, where you're not sure if you have enough oxygen or strength to make it to the top. Summer would be the easy downhill climb, and once you reach the bottom, it's almost September and you may as well turn around and start climbing again.

Anyway, I haven't meant for this to become some sort of monthly thing. I always thought I'd be one of those annoying people who blogged almost daily about just anything. I know I keep promising to be more consistent with this, but I may as well stop and say that once I reach the top of Middle School Wrangling Mountain, I will be back more often.

So, good news: I have been offered my position at Linus Pauling for next year, same hours and everything, and I would be a moron of gigantic proportions to not take it. The major sacrifice we have to make is pushing our plan to move back to the Portland area another year, but I think we can live with that, especially if we get some sort of furry pet to make up for the serious lack of people around.

Another plus: apartments are waaaay cheaper here in Corvallis, and we've decided on a two-bedroom, one bath in a much nicer part of town. It is a definite upgrade from the place we have now. Don't get me wrong; I love it here, but the complex was constructed somewhere near 1972, when I suppose not having lights in the closet, golden-hued countertops matched with dark dark dark cabinets, or a slightly slanted kitchen floor wasn't a big deal.

I suppose the hardest thing for me these last few weeks was to actually find the silver lining in staying here another year. I had really amped myself for leaving, and starting a new chapter in our lives, and I felt like I was being held back against my will. Then I'd get mad at myself because hey, it was a job, for crying out loud, which, right now, is a lot more than some people have. And yeah, there are days when I want to pull my hair out and punt more than one kid out the window (there is a reason those windows don't open all the way, and why Glencoe High School had none: the temptation is too great) but in the end, I adore my job, and I adore my kids.

So yeah. Staying here another year certaintly won't kill me, and who knows what lies in store for me, or us, in the upcoming year. I'm sure there will be more surprises.

Okay, if you made it this far, here is your reward:

This is what happens when you get two tired educators on a Friday night!

I cannot get enough of

Slumdog Millionaire!

I just watched this last night (every time we tried to see it in theaters one of us came down with the flu, so we just resorted to Netflix so we could watch it, plague-ridden or not) and I loved it. Rarely does a movie move me like this one did, and if you haven't seen it, please do!

Also, being the soundtrack junkie that I am, I am currently obsessing over the music in this film. Here are two of my favorites, although I thought it was all fantastic.

ssshhhhhh, I'm hunting an apawtment...

I apologize for not writing more often. I have an excuse other than laziness, however. I have become totally enthralled and addicted to apartment hunting, which I know doesn't sound horribly exciting, but considering the fact that I've had the flu not once, but twice (my immune system is no match for middle schoolers), it's about all I have the energy for.

There's just something about comparing floorplans, and amenities offered, and oh, ratings. I love ratings and reviews.

Okay. I know I sound like a loser with too much free time, but really, it's addicting. We've made a list of about 8 complexes (complexi?) in the Hillsboro/Beaverton/Tanasbourne area that we're going to scout out during Spring Break. If you guys (all 6 of you) know of any we should know of, or avoid, I am all ears.

I'm not saying I want a baby...

But shopping for other people's is a lot of fun. Especially when you can get stuff like this:





The shoes are my favorite. For now, I'll vicariously dress other people's children as I would my own. That'll definitely do for now.

Oops. Is it really February?

Well. It's been a while since I've posted, and I wish I had a decent excuse, like a really high-powered job, or kids, or moving to an exotic island and realizing there is no internet.

But, to be honest, my real reason is that I've just plain gotten lazy. I've had ideas, but then something happens, and I want to post about that, but there's this twang of guilt that I won't be posting about the former thing and well, it is a vicious cycle.

That's why I am going to try to cram everything that's happened in one post that (hopefully) won't bore all six of you to tears.

Which will be tough, since I haven't posted anything since we made gingerbread houses and they have gone the way of the dinosaurs and Pauly Shore's film career.

I think what I will do is a "yay" and "nay" post, because they seem to be the most energy efficient, and we're all about being green here in this household.

Yay to having Christmas Break start a few days early.

Nay to Corvallis apparently thinking we don't need the roads cleared and that we still can use horse-drawn sleighs to get around.

Yay to taking the chance to walk around Corvallis and realizing that it looks like an old timey Christmas card during the winter.

Nay to losing my debit card and driver's license in the stupid snow while sledding.

Yay to the amazingly nice lady at Wells Fargo who heard my story through my hysteria and let me have an emergency card.

Nay to realizing the emergency card only had 60 bucks on it because I couldn't provide a form of ID other than my OSU student identification card.

Yay for stores that have special sales for people like me who leave Christmas shopping for the 23rd.

Nay to dealing with students who have had three weeks of vacation and have somehow forgotten everything taught to them the 3 months prior.

Yay to watching Obama's inauguration and experiencing such a monumental moment with my students.
Nay to the other teacher in the room who promptly turned off the inauguration because he voted for the other guy.

Yay to also being able to attend Carl's wedding reception back in Hillsboro and see him be so incredibly happy.

Nay to realizing that yes, my friends are getting married, having children, and getting jobs and are, by most accounts, adults, and therefore (gasp!), so am I.

Yay to coming back home to Corvallis and settling back into our routine and being able to play with our new Christmas goodies. One of which was this amazing book of the classic Life portraits. Best part about it: it comes with actual prints that I can put into nifty frames!

(don't actually click on it to look inside...)

Nay to a newfound aversion to snow. It snowed this last weekend, and when I saw it peacefully falling outside my window, I moaned and said, "Ugh, more?"

Yay to the sun finally coming out again and being able to go outside again and not fear breaking an ankle. We went to Eugene for the day recently and went to 5th Street Market and Prince Pucklers, the best ice cream in the world. Even Obama has been there!


Nay to not actually being there when Obama stopped by.

Yay to at least being there with Evan, whom I have had the pleasure of spending three wonderful years with. He is an amazing person, and I hope to share many, many, more years with him. Especially if we can still stop by Prince Pucklers.

Nay to Corvallis School District for announcing that their budget will be utter crap for the next two years, which means I probably won't be working at Linus Pauling Middle School next year.

Yay to seeing this as an opportunity for us to move back up to the Portland area where we would be closer to our families and friends, along with the fact that Ev and I would probably have a better chance of finding a teaching gig, what with there being more than one district nearby. Also, a major plus: not walking out the front door and being instantly hit with the smell of 3,000 cows. No, really. It happens.yay! nay!

Nay to leaving all the kids that I have gotten to know. I really don't know how teachers can watch their students leave their grades year after year. I get all sad and teary just thinking about it. I've already promised to come visit them in high school.

Yay to most apartments in the Tanasbourne area allowing pets bigger than fish! And that have fur!

Nay to being allergic to most things with fur, resulting in our probably having to buy something with "doodle" in it.
well..they're not that bad...

Yay to having a fish meanwhile. And he is the coolest fish in all the land. His name is Osiris and he was my reward for surviving an uber cold that had taken over my sinuses and made me its minion for a week.

I call Ozzie for short.

Nay to having a cold so severe that when I tried to go to work, my coworkers took one look at me and said, "Sweetie, we don't mean this the wrong way, but you look horrible. Go home and sleep." And this was after I had taken two Dayquils. At least I got Ozzie out of the whole ordeal.

Yay to finally catching all 6 of you up on what I've been up to. I hope you guys haven't given up on me, and that you have not totally gone comatose after reading all this. I will try to be more consistent with updating this so it's not a manifesto every single time. Here's to February, more adventures, and hopefully more blog posts!