Relay for Life of Dearborn was a huge success. (And, if you're curious, loads of fun.) It was a day so full of awesome things and equally bizarre things that put together, you'd have a barely believable story. Sadly, fears of google-stalking prevent me from sharing the details until I can lower the Unwanted Friend Threat Level to yellow.
Regardless of how I spent the 24 hours, the event was amazing, and I cannot even begin to tell you what an experience it is. If you have never been to an ACS Relay for Life, I highly recommend it. Even though I tend to walk around with the attitude that people suck, it really makes me put that on hold for a day. (Except for when cantankerous neighbors who aren't even in close proximity to the event complain to the police about your kickass sound system, causing the police to shut you down at 2:30am.** Thanks, community members! You know who you are.)
And now, exhausted even after a short nap, I am off to finish some work for Monday (grr) and not move for a while.
**Well, try to shut you down. Cancer doesn't sleep, and neither did we.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Roughing It
"Does that sound alright, miss?"
That's actually what tech support asks you when they tell you your laptop will have to be sent in. And that it will take 7-9 business days because you've baffled the team with your problem. They go through a bunch of troubleshooting until they break the bad news that you'll have to part with it; you just can't fix it on your own. Then they ask if that's ok.
No. No, it is not ok. 7-9 BUSINESS DAYS? I must have a laptop time machine and it's 1998 all over again to be going over a week without my laptop.** (Would you like a list of my favorite AOL keywords? Time to troll Hanson websites for new pictures, I guess! Meet me on AIM to discuss the finer points of Leonardo DiCaprio, ok?) Saying "no, as a matter of fact, 7-9 days is unacceptable" won't actually change the facts. It's really more of a gesture. It'll take as long as they need in order to fix my laptop. I'll be excited about it regardless of the time.
The laptop has been sick since Friday night, the poor thing. I've been checking my email on my family's desktop, so it's tolerable. The first solution was a new cord, which arrived today. I figured, hey, I can make it until Wednesday! But then..the replacement cord didn't breathe new life into my friend. That was when I got the news.
I resisted. I glanced at my first laptop, 8 years old. Ancient and sad, I still have it because I recently realized a bunch of music never made it to my new laptop. But it's pathetic, so I only gave it a fleeting look. Until I heard the fateful words "seven to nine business days."
So here I sit, fingers crossed that my dinosaur friend here can handle all this activity. All so I could log on to twitter. This, my friends, is a new low.
Regular letters and blog posts will be sporadic at best until I get things sorted. In the meantime, I'm keeping a list of things I meant to tweet. Get excited!!
**I didn't get a laptop until 2002 when I went to college. Coincidentally that very laptop happens to be the one I'm typing on right now.
That's actually what tech support asks you when they tell you your laptop will have to be sent in. And that it will take 7-9 business days because you've baffled the team with your problem. They go through a bunch of troubleshooting until they break the bad news that you'll have to part with it; you just can't fix it on your own. Then they ask if that's ok.
No. No, it is not ok. 7-9 BUSINESS DAYS? I must have a laptop time machine and it's 1998 all over again to be going over a week without my laptop.** (Would you like a list of my favorite AOL keywords? Time to troll Hanson websites for new pictures, I guess! Meet me on AIM to discuss the finer points of Leonardo DiCaprio, ok?) Saying "no, as a matter of fact, 7-9 days is unacceptable" won't actually change the facts. It's really more of a gesture. It'll take as long as they need in order to fix my laptop. I'll be excited about it regardless of the time.
The laptop has been sick since Friday night, the poor thing. I've been checking my email on my family's desktop, so it's tolerable. The first solution was a new cord, which arrived today. I figured, hey, I can make it until Wednesday! But then..the replacement cord didn't breathe new life into my friend. That was when I got the news.
I resisted. I glanced at my first laptop, 8 years old. Ancient and sad, I still have it because I recently realized a bunch of music never made it to my new laptop. But it's pathetic, so I only gave it a fleeting look. Until I heard the fateful words "seven to nine business days."
So here I sit, fingers crossed that my dinosaur friend here can handle all this activity. All so I could log on to twitter. This, my friends, is a new low.
Regular letters and blog posts will be sporadic at best until I get things sorted. In the meantime, I'm keeping a list of things I meant to tweet. Get excited!!
**I didn't get a laptop until 2002 when I went to college. Coincidentally that very laptop happens to be the one I'm typing on right now.
The ponytail should have been a clue...
A couple days ago, I was walking around Barnes and Noble. I walked past a group of armchairs, where a middle-aged man, a girl of maybe 11, and a single** man roughly my age sat with books. The middle-aged man, presumably the girl's father, was reading, and the girl had a copy of Twilight poised to read, but was being interrupted. By Ponytail, her new friend in the other chair. This ass was trying to tell her why Twilight is ridiculous. (Are you kidding me??) He was going on and on and on about what a travesty it is that Twilight doesn't explain vampire mythology. And does it even explain why they like blood?? No, it doesn't. Do you know why, he asked the girl? "Um...it tastes good?" Oh, wrong answer! Then he was off and running. She was getting a History of Vampires with a side helping of Edward Cullen Belittling. I sort of wandered around in earshot, trying frantically to think of a plan to get her out that didn't look like...well, a Plan to Get Her Out. You know. Of the sketchy "I drive a van" variety. I heard him say something about Vlad the Impaler and she caught my eye. I tried to smile reassuringly, but I feel certain it did little to alleviate her pain. OH AND THEN. He turned around to rail on the movie. And dragged Dad into the conversation. It was revealed to me that Ponytail but No Shampoo didn't see the movie, but "read some reviews." Which clearly meant he knew what he was talking about.
I could not think of a way to stop the madness. I wanted to tell him that she was a kid. And reading. Do you know how hard it is to get some kids to read?? If they'll read the adventures of Edward Cullen, Dreamy Vampire Boyfriend, then by all means hand them a freaking copy! When Harry Potter came out, it got kids reading. It was a gateway book. They finished that book and picked up more! If Twilight stands to be the predecessor for that, I'm all for it.
**I didn't ask for confirmation, of course. But I feel confident about this one.
I could not think of a way to stop the madness. I wanted to tell him that she was a kid. And reading. Do you know how hard it is to get some kids to read?? If they'll read the adventures of Edward Cullen, Dreamy Vampire Boyfriend, then by all means hand them a freaking copy! When Harry Potter came out, it got kids reading. It was a gateway book. They finished that book and picked up more! If Twilight stands to be the predecessor for that, I'm all for it.
**I didn't ask for confirmation, of course. But I feel confident about this one.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
No way.
One of my first graders walked into the classroom and handed me an orange. "I brought this for you."
Did anyone know that students legitimately bring fruit to their teachers?? I was astonished. How cute is that?
Did anyone know that students legitimately bring fruit to their teachers?? I was astonished. How cute is that?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Message received.
I don't pay much attention to the text message templates stored in my phone. I've had a new phone for a few months now and decided today to check out what templates the new model offered. "What time are we meeting?" "I'm running late." Pretty standard. "Sorry I missed your call. What's up?" "Where are you?" Yeah, alright. Nothing I'll use. "Talk to you soon." Well, sure I might use that, but I can type it in less time than it takes to find the template. "I love you." "I'm in a meeting." Bori--wait. I love you??
I understand that templates are there for convenience. Generic things that you can send quickly without much thought. Do we really want to promote "I love you" as one of those sentiments? I don't feel good about that. I'm sure that when the decision was made to include that, it wasn't malicious. The Template Team probably envisioned people sending a nice message to their wives in the middle of boring meetings, or a quick text on the way to work to your boyfriend.
It will not remain that way, I fear. Men are going to notice this template, a landmine surrounded by innocuous messages about meetings. They are going to think that it is acceptable to drop the L bomb via TEXT. This will be on their list of Chickenshit Ways to Express Your Feelings, alongside email date invites and letting her know she is your girlfriend by changing your facebook relationship status.
I encourage you to delete this template from your phones, or at least to add, "but not enough to tell you in person or even type it out myself." to the end. (Let's be honest with each other here.)
**PS--My sister's phone, a different model, does not offer the I love you template. It DOES, however, offer "I love you too." Coincidence? Or meant to be? You decide.
I understand that templates are there for convenience. Generic things that you can send quickly without much thought. Do we really want to promote "I love you" as one of those sentiments? I don't feel good about that. I'm sure that when the decision was made to include that, it wasn't malicious. The Template Team probably envisioned people sending a nice message to their wives in the middle of boring meetings, or a quick text on the way to work to your boyfriend.
It will not remain that way, I fear. Men are going to notice this template, a landmine surrounded by innocuous messages about meetings. They are going to think that it is acceptable to drop the L bomb via TEXT. This will be on their list of Chickenshit Ways to Express Your Feelings, alongside email date invites and letting her know she is your girlfriend by changing your facebook relationship status.
I encourage you to delete this template from your phones, or at least to add, "but not enough to tell you in person or even type it out myself." to the end. (Let's be honest with each other here.)
**PS--My sister's phone, a different model, does not offer the I love you template. It DOES, however, offer "I love you too." Coincidence? Or meant to be? You decide.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Fury.
Dear Rihanna,
Are you kidding me? Please tell me that all these news reports are false and you're not back together with Chris Brown. We all saw the picture and heard the stories when he "allegedly" beat you. (That's the tricky thing with the word allegedly. It leaves room for "no, he didn't, I fell down some stairs." But most of us still think he did, and will continue to think so. Sorry, but that's the truth.) And now you're BACK with him?? Are you an idiot? Do you even realize that as a public figure, you're a role model? And young girls look up to you? You could do so many positive things with that! But this, THIS is what you show them?
I hope you figure things out.
Solitarily yours,
Bitter Amanda
Are you kidding me? Please tell me that all these news reports are false and you're not back together with Chris Brown. We all saw the picture and heard the stories when he "allegedly" beat you. (That's the tricky thing with the word allegedly. It leaves room for "no, he didn't, I fell down some stairs." But most of us still think he did, and will continue to think so. Sorry, but that's the truth.) And now you're BACK with him?? Are you an idiot? Do you even realize that as a public figure, you're a role model? And young girls look up to you? You could do so many positive things with that! But this, THIS is what you show them?
I hope you figure things out.
Solitarily yours,
Bitter Amanda
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Is your person missing any teeth?
I love my first grade class. They make me laugh, even when they’re a little loud or a little bizarre. They’re wonderful. But right now I have a bit of a problem. A Secret Whistler. Now, I have a Whistler, who is a bit (lot) disruptive and wanders around from time to time. He sometimes whistles…not a particular tune, but just for the noise. It’s annoying, to say the least, but usually it’s easy to contain.
When my class is being loud, one of the super fun things we do is put our heads down on our desks. They know that until they’re quiet, I will continue to sit at my desk and wait them out. At the start of last week, during one such time, we heard a whistle. I told A. to stop. It happened again. And again. The class, frustrated, told A. to “stooooop!” A. denied all involvement. So I watched. AND IT WASN’T HIM.
Which means I have a Secret Whistler. I watched my class, hoping to catch someone. No go. But it kept happening and the class kept blaming A. I feel badly for him! But more than that, I am losing my mind over this copycat.
I’m going to have to out-sneak my class. I WILL figure out who it is. It’ll be like Guess Who? but with first graders. I’m going to keep a class list handy and cross off students when I deduce that they are not the culprit. If things get worse, I may ask the music teacher to test them on whistling—see who has the ability.
Wish me luck.
When my class is being loud, one of the super fun things we do is put our heads down on our desks. They know that until they’re quiet, I will continue to sit at my desk and wait them out. At the start of last week, during one such time, we heard a whistle. I told A. to stop. It happened again. And again. The class, frustrated, told A. to “stooooop!” A. denied all involvement. So I watched. AND IT WASN’T HIM.
Which means I have a Secret Whistler. I watched my class, hoping to catch someone. No go. But it kept happening and the class kept blaming A. I feel badly for him! But more than that, I am losing my mind over this copycat.
I’m going to have to out-sneak my class. I WILL figure out who it is. It’ll be like Guess Who? but with first graders. I’m going to keep a class list handy and cross off students when I deduce that they are not the culprit. If things get worse, I may ask the music teacher to test them on whistling—see who has the ability.
Wish me luck.
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