Drink NAKED!

Yesterday in the mail I got a 'letter' from Amber--actullly the letter was a sticker, and a sticker from one of my FAVORITE VA wineries! (and I think the only one that I've actually visted). I LOVE Naked Mountain wines, and now I have a cool blue sticker to add to my glasses and red sticker I got while I was there! :)
THANKS AMBER, I LOVE IT!

DRINK NAKED is the winery's logo, and they print it on everything--including the corks of their bottles! I loved the rustic mountain atmosphere when I went there--I think that's what Bill really liked, too. We went by it on our way to his sister's house in VA Beach, and I told him, we HAVE to stop on our way back. We had taken the convertable to the beach, so when we weaved up the drive to the winery, Bill was in his elemet! A convertable on a windy country-esque road--it couldn't have been more romantic!
They have a website, too, with all of their wines listed and their upcoming events:
http://www.nakedmtn.com/
They are having an 'hearth warming' open house the third and fourth of December, and I would really like to go!
Thanks again Amber for the sticker and for bringing back a really found memory from last summer! :)

I REALLY hope we can do a trip in the spring, it will be a BLAST!

episodic

I guess it's time for my weekly diatribe on LOST. Rachel, a good friend from work, and I have started Thursday morning coversations about the show and our equal love and aggravation with the construction of the story (aggravating only in the sense that we both really want to KNOW what's going on)!

I shared Amber's purgatory theory with her today, and like me, Rachel sees how it is plausible, but isn't entirely conviced. Here are some things we thought of (Bill actually contributed to this, too, which is facinating)--
1.--Did Shannon really receive atonement (in a sense) to pass on? She was LOVED, but was it enough?
2.--Why wasn't Hurly killed after getting to pass out the food rations the way he wanted to? He gained control of something important to him, much like Shannon did, so it would seem in the purgatory senario he would pass on.
3.--What did Nathan do to worthy passage? (I also have a theory about the list of names, which I will explore shortly).

Two main ideas surfaced in mine and Rachel's conversation that are still perplexing me. They are seemingly unrelated at the moment, but as this show goes, it remains to be seen.

Idea #1: Ana Lucia and the US Military

This chick is badass. I still don't like her, and after seeing the previews for next week, it's not likely that I will. Lucia obviously has had formal military training in my opinion. She takes charge as a natural leader, she's hard-nosed, and she knows how to improvise. She leads the intense trek into the jungle, and digs the pit for Nathan. She also has a knack for interrogation (I'll touch more on this later). She also talks to Goodwin about the US Army knife, and is quite knowledgeable. This brings me to WHY this whole thing about Lucia and the Military is important.
The knife: Lucia says the knife is at least 15-20 years old. She found it on one of the 'Others' that they killed. Now. Rousseau, the French lady, said she had been on the Island 15 years. We don't really fully know the circumstances that occurred when she and her party arrived on the island--she said something about an experiement, and she lost her son: Ethan--(lots of juicy stuff on this one, too). When the hatch is opened, and we learn about the dharma initiative, there is an implied military involvement with the 'cover up' and military-like rations and 'need-to-know' policy. Intriguing. Lucia also tells the surviors on her side of the island to forget about their old life, that THIS was their life now. To me, she knows what this island is about, and she's hiding something.
The interrogation: The fact that Lucia could interrogate intrigues me, and it did even more so when during the preview for next week she says she killed someone Sayid loved. I'm still not entirely convinced Shannon is dead. I know it's probably a long shot, but--Sayid was in the Gulf war. If Lucia has military training (and we also don't exactly know the time frame of this show) it is POSSIBLE that Lucia was also in the Gulf war. Sayid lost a woman he loved during this war (he was also an interrogator) and it is possible that Lucia might be the one responsible for HER death. Whateve happens, I hope Sayid kicks her ass.

Idea #2: Goodwin, Ethan and the manifest.

So Goodwin was one of the 'others.' Ethan, the mystery man from season one, shared many of Goodwin's characteristics. He mysteriously came from the woods, no one remembered seeing him on the plane, yadda-yadda. Ethan was the first person to be in charge of the manifest of passengers on the plane. Now this was only a few days after the crash (maybe a week). Ethan also dissapeared in the woods for lengthy periods of time. It is highly likely that during this time he was in contact with Goodwin and sharing information from the manifest with him so that he could develop a list of people on the other side of the island. Sadly, that's only about as far as I got with this one, because Hurley soon obtained control of the list. Ethan became very wild--he kidnapped Claire and nearly killed Charlie. Charlie shoots Ethan before Sayid and the other guys get to question him, so we never learn his story. The notable connection Sayid makes is that 'Ethan' was the name of Rousseau's son--the one taken by 'the others.'

So I don't think I really came to a conclusion, but I'm having fun analyzing what's going on!

Adventures in Baby-preventing

Ok. I now consider myself to be a slight expert in various forms of birth control. I have been taking the stuff since I was twenty, but it has only been in the past year that I have really branched my 'no-baby' pill (as Bill likes to call them) repertoire .

I began taking Alesse--thanks to the WONDERFUL University health staff (when it only cost something like $15 for the treatment AND a year's worth of pills)--and stuck with that all through college.

I took a short hiatus (NO FUN--it was about 6 months, and you catch my drift) during my first year of marriage because, well, you know my nickname. I was getting acclimated to my surroundings, and was overwhelmed with school and such. Once I did finally find a doctor...er...midwife, I tried two different generic forms of Alesse with her. No big whoop.

When the blood pressure started going crazy, my regular doctor suggested Yasmin. Now I must say the Yasmin BY FAR was the best pill I had to date. My periods lasted for THREE DAYS. I loved it! I'd been on Yasmin for about a year, and my doctor suggested in October that I try Ortho-Evra....the patch. HATED IT! I'm on my third patch of my first month, and if I EVER have to go through this again, I think I'll just suggest to Bill that he get snipped, because that would probably be easier. I could write pages on why this thing is so terrible, but to sum it up: it's like a band-aid, and...ugh...that's about it. I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and told her that it wasn't working, so now we are trying something new.

I'm going to start taking Seasonale the pill that allows you to only have four periods a year. It sounds cool, and my doctor (who really is an amazing woman) carefully discussed all my options with me. So more adventures in baby-prevention are soon to come. I like the idea of only four periods, although, when I told mom about it, she said, "well, I just don't know about that Candace because God intended us to have periods."--Amber I hope you're laughing now.

Let's face it: Babies are crusty, and the patch is like an icky band-aid which reminds me of crusty babies, and this is just not something I can handle. I vote for NO PERIODS!

High School students are tact-less

No offence to anyone in high school, but let's face it: there is something seriously WRONG with most high schoolers these days.

Ok, wait, that first line didn't make a lick of sense because the people reading MY posts are well beyond the high school range. Blaine (if you read this) doesn't count because she's my cousin, and she's different. I don't think about her like I do my students because she's so much better and cooler than they are!

Today was probably the worst day I have had so far this year. My first period is terrible! They can't handle a simple task. They are whiny, and they think they can just weasel their way out of work whenever they want to. It just irritates me. But for every single thing that drives me up the wall, there are two or three things that can't help but make me smile and remind me that there is something worthwhile about teaching...even if it might be a little off color.

We are studying 'The Crucible' in my two 11th grade classes, and we have finished reading Act One. My students are intrigued by the audacity of some of these individuals in the play. They did have a difficult time at first understanding that there are NO witches in the play, but are starting to see the characters' motives for blaming others of witchcraft. We were reviewing for a quiz on Thursday last week, and I asked the students if the character of John Proctor lived up to the Puritan code of conduct. I was met, of course, with blank stares. So, I rephrased my question to help it make more sense by saying, "Was Proctor doing anything that he shouldn't be doing?" Without missing a beat, PJ (a football player, and not the sharpest crayon in the box) pipes up by saying, "yeah, 17 year olds!"

There was a moment of silence, followed by some cautious laughter on the part of the students. I didn't really know what to do. I had to put my head down on the podium to keep from laughing. YES the student was right, Proctor was guilty of an affair of some kind with Abigail, but the WAY he said it was TOTALLY inappropriate.....FUNNY by inappropriate!

I've taken to calling PJ 'Giles Corey'--which ironically enough is the character that he chose to read for--because PJ is always the one blamed for EVERYTHING in my class, just like Giles is...and he was actually smart enough to make that connection.


My other little ray of light is my 7th period. They are the quirkiest group of children ever. They are so much fun. Ulices and Nash drive me crazy, but I just can't help but hang my head and laugh whenever they pull their little antics. Nash even told me today, "awe. Mrs. H, you know you can't stay mad at us!" Ulices is from Mexico, and they were talking about stereotypes in class (which is ironic, because we had that inservice earlier this month concerning "getting to know our Hispanic and Latino students" which also discussed both positive and negative stereotypes). Ulices is a little comedian. As they were walking out the door when the bell rang, he grabbed one of the other Hispanic students around the shoulder and said, "Hey Carlos, aren't white people just SO aggressive?" To me, it was almost the equivalent of when Pat Mortia (Mr. Miagi from the Karate Kid) guest-starred on M*A*S*H and said, "All you Americans look alike to me."

BLOG-TAG --I'm IT

Anyway, their adoration for my room reminds me of the times I spent hanging out in Mr. B's room during lunch when I was in high school (who, coincidently, was MY English teacher).

I have been blog-tagged! And so I am passing on the results and doing some tagging of my own - here is how it works:

1. Go into your archives.
2. Find your 25th post.
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to it).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five other people to do the same thing.


ok, so I'm not quite to post 25 yet, but the 4th post sounded like a good choice. This particular post found me comparing the current generation of high-school English class loafies with those of my adolescence. It is kind of funny because I told my kids that I blogged about them (they have no idea how to find me...thank goodness), and they thought that was awesome. They are a funny group. Be sure to see my next post of how high school students say the darndest (or should I say most tactless) things.

LOST, revisited

So, my favorite radio station to listen to in the morning is Elliot in the Morning. One of Elliot's traditions, I guess, is to talk about LOST. Some interesting things came out of today's discussion. First of all, Elliot shares my strong dislike of the comando chick (a term, I believe, Diane actually used in the show today). Also, they played Walt's 'backwards speak' and he totally said, "They're coming and they're close." CHILLS!

I really did enjoy the show last night, but LOST is one of those shows that gets under your skin, makes you anticipate one thing and then does something completely different. I'm not even sure I believe that Shannon has died or not, and we won't find out for at least one week! arg! Amber's purgatory theory sounds intriguing, and almost plausible, but there are a few things that don't quite add up: Like the physics teacher that blows up in season one. What business did he resolve or finish? I think there is something more at work here. And yes Amber, Sayid is HOT! :) yum! I was in love with him when he was in the English Patient!

And why on earth is Walt always soaking wet?

One other thing they talked about on EITM that I forgot to mention in my previous post was that you could see Jack in the ER scene when Shannon finds out her dad died....in a head on collision! Tangled web! I'm also excited to see what happens to the other survivors, too.


Aside from TV, a few interesting things to note! I broke in my new silicon-shaped ice cube trays last night, and tonight I'm drinking juice with star-shaped ice cubes! (FUN!) And the ONE the ONLY the QUINTESSENTIAL chick flick is on tonight. When Harry Met Sally ! So much fun!

LOST cause

Ok. it is official. I am NOT happy with tonight's episode of LOST. Let's face it. Shannon is not the best female character, in fact she is a complete train wreck, but I have really gotten to like her over the past few episodes. Especially this one! And Sayid said he loved her. Ok. I'm furious. I hate the comando chick. Let me compose myself. I'll post more on this issue tomorrow.
goodnight!

The Breakfast Club

As a teacher it is amazing to me the habits of teenagers. I am not that far removed from the high school scene, and I find it interesting to compare the habits of today's youngsters to those of my generation. I have a group of young gentlemen that like to hang out in my room each morning. I have lovingly started refering to them as 'The Breakfast Club,' a reference that is sadly lost on them since they have never seen the movie and have no idea who Molly Ringwald is. SAD! Anyway, their adoration for my room reminds me of the times I spent hanging out in Mr. B's room during lunch when I was in high school (who, coincidently, was MY English teacher). Does history in fact repeat itself? If so, I think the gender flip is quite interesting. There are few if any girls who are regulars in The Breakfast Club, just as there were few boys that consistantly hung out with me and the other girls that spent our lunch time in Mr. B's room. Rarely do I disturb the converstation the boys have in the morning, and I'm pretty sure Mr. B left us to our own devices in his room while he served lunch duty (ah! the good old days when kids could be trusted!). When I do stumble into the conversation, the boys are often appreciative. I use 'teachable moments' to introduce new vocabulary words like 'exacerbate' (which was a riot) and 'ruinous.' I'm amazed that these boys value my opinion when it comes to certian issues like girls (a rarity), video games and sometimes the occation school issue. Sometimes, however, I want to plaster a sign on my door that say, 'Unless you have a question about GRAMMAR I cannot help you. Go see you Guidance Counselor.'

The best moment to date was when the students insited on playing 'The Final Countdown' (the name of the band escapes me at the moment), and continued to wander into my room 'dooodling' the intro chords.....do do doooo doooo, do-do-do-do, do do doooo dooooo, do-do-do-do!

cyberbullying gang members with machismo!

Don't let the title fool you; it's just a conglomeration of the topics we discussed in today's inservice at school! We listened to a police officer describe different gang symbols and looked at pictures he gave us of gang related activities going on in VA. We listened to a teacher describe how students (and some teachers) are being bullied and threatened by other students through e-mails, instant messages and other cyber-related material, and we learned how to be more sensitive to the ever-growing latino/hispanic populations in our school.

I really don't know what to think...Should I be proud that I am able to play such a potentially heroic role in saving our students from potential gang involvement, bullying in cyber space and culture-shock, or run screaming for the hills of WV where I am at least temporarly safe from these issues? I honestly did not realize how naive I was to the issues that surround my school community.

I felt I really got a lot out of these discussions today. Very informative. The only thing that I think was missing from the presentation was WHAT TO DO? What is our role, our purpose? What actions do we need to take? I felt this was lacking from all three discussions. We can recognize it. We can be aware of it. But what do we DO about it? How do we prevent students from joining gangs? How do we stop bullying, let alone CYBER bullying? How do we truly help students who are new to our country, who have been thrust into our culture with no real grasp of English, and are expected to PASS tests written in ENGLISH on the same levels as native English speakers?

I'm sorry to be so deep, but it is a genuine concern I've had for a long time, and it all boils down to the morality of our youth.

Can't we all just get along? Can't I stop asking rhetorical questions?

Let's call it a night!

rather random

Upon reading my initial post, I noticed that I was...er...rather fond of the word...rather. I used it a ridiculous number of times! Such an odd word, isn't it...'rather.' A rather odd word. It appears in the dictionary between rathe and 'rather than.' It means "With better reason or more popriety: more properly" or "More readily or willingly; preferably" or "More correctly speaking" or "To the contrary, instead" or [archaic] "in some degree: somewhat." I find I use rather in all these ways, particulary in the archaic form...must be the shakespeare in me...ha. I should pity rather than despise those who do not know the glory of the word 'rather.' I'd rather use this word than some other boring word. My kids, or rather my students, don't know how to use this word. This post hasn't gotten any better but rather has grown worse. To summarize: I rather enjoy using this word.

rather boring...

Inaugural Posting!

So this is my first post in my new blog! Thanks to my cousin for talking me into doing this.

On tap for today:
1--SCHOOL: Grades were due today for our first 9 weeks at school. Funny thing is, our first nine weeks lasted ELEVEN weeks. I'm not exactly sure how that worked out. Did they think we wouldn't notice? On the bright side we did not have students today. Not that I dislike my students, it's just that well, they can be rather bothersome at times. New rules are going into effect for the second nine weeks, and they ARE NOT going to be happy! As my cousin Amber said, I will be channeling my aunt for strength!

My procrastination got the better of me today as well. I did not spend nearly enough time on my grading throughout the nine weeks as I should have. Hence the reason I was so frustrated today. I vow to do better, but we shall see.

2--FUN: I had a wonderful DC weekend that I must gush about for a few lines! My cousin Amber and best friend Amy are the best! I adore them! We had a wonderful shopping weekend, and I picked up some rather interesting wines to sample over the next month or so. Found a Petite Sirah and an interesting looking Chianti, plus I landed two of my favorite whites--Santa Margharita Pinot Grigio and Moselland Ars Vitis Riesling! Amy also gave me a rather interesting Rose from a theatre in Southern VA. :)

Our Ikea trip was rather fruitful as well. I can't believe we nearly bought out the entire store! I think one of the best parts was seeing the Ikea virgin sign. Amy and Amber really should have patented that line.

And the food was AMAZING! Hands down the best place was The Carlyle (sp?). What a fantastic meal! and worth every penny! YUM!

alright. I suppose I will become more blog-savvy as I continue to use this thing...until then~
Nothingness prevails!