wrapping up

There's always a thud at the end of a vacation. Thud, reality. The copious amounts of comfort food, family, friends, down time, sleeping in, phone calls with friends in snowy places, curling up with a book or journal, football, basketball and movies must draw to a close. I must mint the fresh, warm, hilarious memories to keep me cozy through the mad dash to Christmas.

And the Xmas '08 mix to keep me cheery. I finally set my American account up on itunes. Apple can be real punks with their hyper international regulation. This ole computer has kept me company in Canada, Japan and the US, and the only people who care other than me are the uptight Apple legal gurus. But, I put all my favorite Christmas tunes (BNL's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", U2's "Christmas (Baby, please come home)", Adam Sandler's "Chanukuh Song") plus some really good ones (DMB's "Christmas Song", Dean Martin's "Baby, It's Cold Outside", etc.). And, I found Sinead O'Connor's version of "Silent Night". So, I'm a little excited about it. My siblings had some say in the selection and line up. My brother asked me, "You know what I really like about it?" "What?" He replies, "It's really short. That's a good thing when it comes to Christmas music."

I have lessons to plan, books to read, walks to walk, calls to dial, mixes to burn. The thud hasn't hit quite yet. I cannot believe we're at the threshold of December. Yowsers.

low key thanksgiving

My brother commented, "There was something off. Very off." He was talking about our T-Day family get together. There was far less crazy and noise, but the only thing off was my cousin, B, who is busy getting ready to be deployed. Last year there were 38 people at our little get together this year there were 17; so that was part of it. Last year was an insanely good time. Today was a comfy, enjoyable soiree.

My nuclear family went to see "Four Christmases"; the movie exceeded are expectations, which really isn't saying much. We wanted to see "Quantum of Solace", but the sister had already seen it (and the goal was the entire fam going together.) If you're into cinematography as art, this isn't the movie for you. But, there were more than enough hilarious one-liners and scenes. A good time was had by all, smuggled peanut M&Ms and all.

And, I finally talked to M in Vancouver. I think, I've been subconsciously avoiding her because I promised her that I'd run the Nashville marathon and then haven't trained due to my work schedule. I made her miss her subway. Just the skeletal reconnection made me happy. She's dating a great guy, her church internship didn't pan out, she's reading Victorian mysteries. Dude, I have the cooolest friends.

Did you know the first American thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621?

thanks giving 2008

I love Madeira's tradition of giving thanks. My high school always dedicated an assembly to the community's thanksgiving. Anybody could go to the mike and give thanks. It was a bit tedious but beautiful. A Mad girl wrote a note this year, and another Mad girl would compile a list in college so that we could continue the tradition and connection. It was a lesson that impacted a lot of our souls.

So, here is my 2008.

Thanks for good books that impact my life (the irrational season, eat this book, teacher man, etc); the gentle kindnesses of the everyday (a stranger letting me go ahead in line, off-hand, one-line compliments); friends of the kindred spirit variety that join you on the journey in the most unexpected and splendid ways; my family who I enjoy, admire and love; all that I'm learning in my first full-time teaching gig; laughter, smiles and winks; thoughts that stew in your mind 24/7 that you can dip into when you have time to journal; far-off places to read and dream about; the sheer quantity of beauty and ideas to be experienced; learning how to sew (and patience and humility); the ability and drive to grow; a God good and big.

pinkled

I went to my writing group. I haven't been since September. We talked and typed in a kitchen. It was good. I wrote about Christmas memories while one girl edited a piece on elephant dung and Mt. Kenya and the other worked on her novel. Granted, I drove over an hour round trip to write 486 words, but that's a really prosaic way to assess the genius that transpired, right? Sitting with the girls felt like an unproctored study hall as we all typed at the same dining table-- and there was somebody across the table to make eye contact with. It brought back memories of tenth grade and Michelle.

After writing I bought two books: L'engle's Irrational Season and Three Cups of Tea at the Mean Cat Used Book Store on Plaza. I showed some restraint by putting to the side until I finish at least one of the four books I'm now reading. And, I listened to a brilliant sermon on Exodus 19 and seeing God. And, I read in my books, listened to Ruth, skyped with a friend in Germany, complained about how Africa has become a fad (thanks Brad, Angie, Madonna, Bono, et al), ate a Cajun Filet Biscuit, drank legendary iced tea, planned my classes, walked while listening to Ex. 1-14. (Exodus is my favorite to listen to so far-- of course, it is straight up narrative.) I hope remain this enamored with the chatty Bible. Now, I sip red wine and get ready to read before I go to bed. 5:30 can be abrasive when one stays up too late, but otherwise it's not too bad.

Sorry for the political mumbo jumbo yesterday-- I didn't delete it although I should. I just get miffed with people who have a macro vision that they fail to live out on the micro level. Systemic evil is ultimately brought about by individuals. Regulation and taxation is dealing with symptoms not the ailment.

obama's and biden's spread the wealth strategies

This frustrates me. I give over 10 percent of my income away. Thinking about this, brings back memories of American History on the second story of Schoolhouse. In the Federalist Papers, Jay, Madison or Hamilton penned, "If all men were angels, no government would be necessary." I'm all for noblesse oblige AND checks and balances. The problem with electing socialists is that we have relinquished our discernment and choices of how to spend our money. Obama averages less than 1% charitable giving (and he's a multi-millionare). Average American giving is around 3% with smaller incomes. Biden gave .3%. McCain has given over 25% of his income. It seems that Obama words are far prettier than his life. But, who needs integrity when somebody's promoting change? I'm a simpleton who expects a person's words to align with his deeds. That makes me a critical Republican. Apparently, working in politics absolves you of personal giving. Here's an article I found that states it cogently:

Thinking about Barack Obama’s impromptu lecture to Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher about his plans to “spread the wealth,” I wondered whether Obama was a practitioner of his own “spread the wealth” principles when he had the opportunity to do so, or whether he was the cheap political opportunist and redistributor of the wealth of others that he appeared to be.

Looking at Obama’s charitable giving in since 2000 based on his tax returns, we find that Obama consistently refused to follow his own advice to “spread the wealth” when he had the opportunity to do so. This is especially true in years when he made nearly $250,000 or more. Their contributions didn’t increase until Barack Obama’s extraordinary book deal helped make him a millionaire and Michelle Obama received nearly $200,000 raise in May 2005 when she assumed a new position with her employer as vice president of “community and external affairs” – coincidentally, just months after he husband joined the US Senate.

As the chart below shows (HT: TaxProf Blog, who has PDF links to all returns listed), from 2000-2004, Obama’s charitable giving averaged less than 1 percent:



In fact, during that 2000-2004 period Obama gave substantially less than the average family making more than $150,000, which averages giving of 2.2 percent of total income according to University of George Professor Russell James. And a study published in January by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy found that nationwide in 2004 more than two-thirds of American households – the vast majority of which made significantly less than the $207,647 Obama made that year – still gave an average of over $2,000, or 3 percent of their income.

Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, was even stingier about spreading his wealth. When his tax records were released in September, they revealed that over the past decade he had only donated an average of $369 each year. In 2007, his charitable giving was only $995, or 0.3 percent of income in a year when his tax returns reported $319,853 in income.

By comparison, John McCain gave more than one-quarter of his income in 2006 and 2007 (28.6 and 27.3 percent respectively). And according to the New York Observer, since 1998, he has donated royalties on his books totaling more than $1.8 million.

When Barack Obama and Joe Biden could voluntarily give more of their own income and had the means well beyond most Americans to do so, they refused. In the event that Barack Obama is elected President, however, he and his Democrat allies in Congress intend to force others with the full might of the US government to do what he refused to do on his own.

bizzyblog article.


And, whatever happened to his promise of post-partisan politics? Look at the cabinet he's building. Yikes.

christmas mixing

I've embarked on my "Xmas '08" mix for family and friends. I axed some of my favorites because I'm going for "upbeat". It ended up a little more twangy and old school than I planned. And, my siblings' influence on me is evident. There's still time to edit. The questions that remain: Should I put a poem on it-- will it break the rhythm? Is this too much blue grass? I take my ecclectic taste for granted, but will it shock my audience. Earlier I put downloaded my new MP3 Bible onto my itunes. My little computer is going to have to go to bed to soon.

I started Eat This Book. It... is... phenomenal!!! Peterson makes great connections and compelling arguments that remind me that the quotidian counts. It also made me so homesick for Regent, for church, for an entire community of kindred spirits. God gives us tiny tastes of heaven, so we don't settle for the good in lieu of the best, right? That's what CSL claims anyway.

the party girl

Last night (Friday night) I stayed at school until 6:35pm. I left when a friend called to pester me "Does anyone thank you for the hours you work? No. Does anybody appreciate the hours you work? No. Is it going to help your career to work these hours? No." She went on with her monologue of answering her own rhetorical questions. I concede her point, but I also know that there is no way to interact with the kids, parents and colleagues and get all the planning, paperwork, and grading done. When two people are in charge of 65 kids (and nearly half are below grade level) there's a lot of work to be finished and a lot of cya paperwork and meetings. Plus the copier jammed in five places, and the printer was acting like it was on its death bed.

I met some friends for supper and had a good time. Then came home, tried to read and decided to go to bed. (I left my house at 6:40am and got back at 8:30pm.)

What my kids will remember about me yesterday: I "said cuss words" in class while I read them The Watsons Go to Birmingham. They all wrote that page number down. While I was reading, I perched on the counter near the pencil sharpener. I walked around during the spelling quiz with pencil shavings smudged on my butt. I kept telling my kids to stop making noise during the quiz. Little did I know my arse was the cause of the disruption. I'm so cool.

so this is MY life

The school psychologist came in to my class today to observe a student. However the girl the shrink came to observe was in the principal's office because another girl on my team had punched her in the face twice. The puncher was suspended for three days. I think the punchee will get at least a day because her mouth instigates about every scrape she's in. (Update: the punchee didn't get suspended, but spent the entire day today in the guidance counselor's office because "everything made her cry.") Other students dedicated their period to giving her a good show. A new audience breathes fresh life. I felt vindicated by the psychologist observing what a craptastic class it is. She was even a bit overwhelmed, and she's trained in how to deal with kids. (The one psychology class I took in university cracked me up.)

I also felt vindicated when I went to the new middle school teachers' monthly meeting and saw how many teachers had resigned. At least four since last month. So, there's something to say for persistence.

I improved this week: I made the cookies while nibbling on the dough... instead of just nibbling. My kids will be happy.

My Amazon shipment arrived!! "The Bible Experience" whole Bible MP3s, The Attentive Life (gift for a friend) and Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson. When the Chief saw the packing carnage, she commented, "Just what we need: more books." I responded, "And CDs." She repeated, "And CDs."

who wants a single cohesive narrative when you could have this?

I'm a hypocrite: I teach writing in an orderly fashion. But, a single cohesive narrative is simply not in the cards tonight, friends, even though that's what I teach most days. It isn't in the cards. What cards?

On an early evening whim, I headed to the Wednesday night service at the church in which I grew up. A large part of my motivation was food; those women can cook. I ended up going to the tough questions class that dealt with "How do you deal with the atrocities done in the name of Christianity" and "What does the Bible say about homosexuality?" The class lived up to its name. I'm not sure I can give an anecdote this close to having gone. I was getting really frustrated with this enthusiastic, misinformed chap perched in the seat directly in front of me. His inane and spiteful comments irked me until suddenly they seemed hilarious and I'd get the giggles every time he said something ridiculous. He even said that "the crusades were necessary". You scare me. "Homosexuality is an abomination." Um, last time I checked, all sin is fundamentally odious to God. From the discussion, I did realize my point of departure from most of the people in the room is that I think there is nothing fundamentally sacred about the nuclear family. The nuclear family isn't a biblical concept the best I can tell.

The evening reminded me: a) I'm in odd place, having gone to seminary (I've read a lot about, gone to lectures on and written papers on stuff most people think about in passing), b) I'm odd, c) this isn't the church for me, and d) Church is hard... in a good way.

I keep hoping that I'll happen upon the equivalent to St. Johns here, but it isn't going to happen. Or, even Chapel Hill Bible the era I attended. The lack of a church to call home makes me think that I'm not going to end up here, but, then again, maybe I just need to pick one and muscle through the angst and longing for kinship.

Speaking of odd, I'm excited about sewing Saturday. I can't wait to wear my new skirt and dress!! And, today I was daydreaming about walking through McAdenville at night to see the Christmas lights. And, I want to go ice skating outside somewhere this holiday season! And, hear Handel's Messiah.

* note to self: perhaps this quantity push isn't for the best. Maybe I should have theme nights or wait patiently until I have a cool story.

a good day

North Carolina is playing Kentucky in basketball. College basketball season has arrived... and UNC is destined for greatness even with Hansbrough injured. Tis good to be a Tar Heel.

I refuse to let insommnia best me. I went over to a friend's for dinner. We had a lovely time full of delightful banter about ideas and politics and theology. And, we're going to have to continue our discussion of sisters. She has a sister who is 18 months older than she, too. And, our sisters' names are the same.

In my afternoon class, I had a breakthrough with some of the dynamics. It's as if I gained an outsider's perspective for a bit. I was aware of the interaction among, teacher and students and students and students. I could feel them get restless or get really involved. I could tell the difference between good noise and bad noise.

In my morning class, I had two moments that fueled me emotionally for the rest of the day. A girl leaned back and said, "Oh, now I get what we're doing." She promptly dug into the work. And, on the way to lunch, another girl handed me a carefully folded square that read "To: Mrs. M from: V". I opened it to find a very detailed picture of a spider and web rotating purple and black Sharpees. And, every-other letter was purple. M (purple) r (black) s (purple) . (black). I wonder if she did it during reading, writing or grammar. I'm partly honored to be the recipient of work that time intensive and partly chagrinned she's comfortable enough to hand me the evidence of her slacking in my class.

I applied to a job fair in a different system. It's a good system and not likely, but it'll be good experience.

I'm enjoying Larry Crabb's Shattered Dreams. And, I just embarked on Frank McCourt's Teacher Man; I think I'm going to love it.

whoa, nelly

This afternoon I attended a workshop about teaching writing. It was fairly interesting, but a) I disagreed with the basic premise and b)on afternoons I'm not buzzing around my room wrangling 12 year-olds, I get sleepy.

My concern is that these types of writing formulas deal with the symptom rather than the ailment. Writing well and reading comprehension are, in essence, thinking well. This programmatic system with reproducables indicates the larger problem of vision of public schooling. There is no vision. The problem is people can't and don't think. There's no Language Arts curriculum that can erradicate that. A mother's education level is the best indicator of a child's success in school for a reason. The foundation of thinking, hence, writing and reading are taught at home not school. There is no amount of conferencing a public school teacher can do (esp. when there are over 30 other kids in the room) that will substitute for a mother reading a book with a child. My mom taught me active reading before I could read. She'd ask questions whilst she read, demanding observation and prediction from me. Likewise, conversation prepares a child to write clearly and persuasively. There's no graphic organizer that can absolve a parent.

That said, I come back to small classes are good classes. Conversation is learning. That said, I'm glad for some methods. I got some good exercises to integrate. I'm too critical and theoretical.

fun we had

I'm exhausted. Twas an intense weekend. I went to visit my sister for her birthday. We had fun, ate well, chatted incessantly, and stayed out late. I enjoyed meeting the people with whom she spends her time. We bought a fun birthday cake at Whole Foods but got in too late (2am) to eat it with the Proseco she'd designated for the mini celebration. I haven't been at a bar at closing time in quite a while or done shots in a while.

She's house sitting for a history prof and her family. I enjoyed their house and books. It seemed the perfect place to read and write. Lots of windows and bookselves. Great sound system. Lovely yard with a brook behind. And, the books were alphabetized which kind of made the living room seem like a library. And, the pets were characters worthy of a picture book.

Notable detail: I stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom. Drat if a tour bus of red hatters (old ladies decked out in outrageous red hats, sporting purple velvet) had not queued out the Ladies' room. It was more of a curly queue. It would have been highly amusing if I hadn't had two cups of coffee and a liter of water. I skedaddled to my car and found a gas station. I never knew they toured on buses.

I need to contact local colleges, universities and community colleges this week about adjunct positions for the summer. It'll be a lot of work... that might pay off.

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week (well, the following week).

I'm getting organized and getting calm in multiple areas of my life.

you are beginning to feel relaxed

"Now release your buttocks. The lower part of your body is beginning to relax....

"Breath in two three....

"You may feel the sensation of flowing or heaviness. Both of these are normal."

I'm listening to this ridiculous CD partly because of curiosity (it's always been in my stack), humor and the local classical station is playing something brassy and full of percussion. Super. Listening to this brings back the good times of watching my roommate's Billy Blanks' Tae Bo DVDs. Just watching them... well, watching them and eating popcorn. It's much sillier when one is watching than participating. "Geez, Billy, you're earnest and shiny." Like now, I'm focusing on the Sleep Expert's excellent ennunciation and the flat affect of his voice in Progressive Muscle Relax.

It's the kind of voice I needed to hear today when a student broke a planter in my room. Or, when the instructional assistant didn't show. Or, when I found out about the surprise faculty meeting. Or, when the parent showed up for a tete at tete. Or, when my awesome writing activity bombed. I asked, "Do you know what 'original' means?" A student eagerly answered, "Something you do every day." I responded by directing a student to look up "original" in the Dictionary. Huh, fresh and unusual.

Breathe in one two three. Out one two three. Now imagine you're on any beautiful beach of your own choosing. Thanks, sleep expert, I like options in imaginary beaches.

So, I had sardines and salteens for dinner and topped it off with a gratuitous amount of chocolate chip cookie dough. "Vomit" isn't so gross right now.

Did I forget to mention that I replied to my teammate's chipper comment: "All I do is try to help you" with "That is what you always say." Then, proceeded to tell her where her party line broke down with specific examples. Why, yes, I did piss her off. But, she was far less bossy opinionated and yankee after that.

Thanks for listening. I'm off to grade and record a 5" stack of papers.

I love my job, John Tesh. I love my job, John Tesh. Play on, John Tesh. Breathe one two three.

glimmer

Some days I just feel clobbered by mundanity, mediocrity and apathy. It's like they're thugs who mug you when you skip out the back door of the bar to get some fresh air. You're enjoying the clear night sky and brisk temperature... then, BAM. Thugs come and beat you just for the hell of it.

Today was the reverse. I was privvy to wonder. This boy in my class (who frustrates me to no end-- his dad is in jail and his mom works insane hours) rescued three birds from this net. This one bird even let him hold it. It shocked me speechless to watch this kid who refuses to do work, gently free these frightened birds. His problem-solving and command of the situation was awe-full. I felt honored to witness the interaction. It gave me hope for this kid. So, he might fall under the spell of Shakespeare, but there is something beautiful about his soul when he isn't clogging toilets or throwing spitballs.

sicky poo

I'm sick. It's the cold and flu variety. I'm sleeping and self-medicating. My body aches and my appetite is depressed. But, the sleep is good. I finished The Attentive Life and recommend it. Of course, I taught Sunday School this morning and was sitting in the worship service when I thought to myself, "Screw it, I'm going home and going to bed." I was hanging on for communion. Instead, I communed with my bed for four hours.

I'm going into work tomorrow; it's too much work to scrounge up a substitute. I have Tuesday off, so I'll try to hang on through tomorrow, leave early and sleep on Tuesday.

Saturday, I almost finished my second winter skirt and started on my first wool sheath. I'm starting to get the hang of this sewing thing. But, I went to Mary Jo's, a cloth store, Sat evening and just got overwhelmed. So, I came home with only a 22" zipper.

conference day

It's nine o'clock, and I just came upstairs from putting a double batch of brownies in the oven. (Brownies are my latest effort to bribe my students. I got an idea from a colleague-- she said to set them as a weekly reward for the top groups. I'm casting the net a little wider this week; I'll probably give it to the top half.) I promised my kids, so, I had to do it although I'm beat. We taught from 7:50-12:30 then had parent conferences from 1-7:30. I think I'm going to sleep well. My students don't realize the hours we work; they just want their stinking brownies.

The conferences went well on the whole. I inflated my grades because I know I'm a stricter teacher than they're used to, and I'm used to a ten-point scale (not the silly seven-point one this county uses). Furthermore, I have a lot to learn about teaching and communicating with the mind of a seventh grader. So, we'll give them a benefit of the doubt. I don't always communicate my expectations and directions effectively. That's my excuse anyway. I'm working on it, and I'll eventually take some education classes and figure out some theory on what I'm living right now.

Sunny side: One of my fellow teachers informed me that when he asked his class about democracy day one of his students told him that the political cartoon lady was the best. Apparently, this kid found my schpiel the most interesting and informative. Of course, the kid didn't glean my name from the interaction. But, it made me feel good. I get so little feedback and even less positive feedback. My ego will snack on this tidbit for a while. It's as my mom says, "My need for affirmation is embarrassing." It must be genetic.

I'm feeling more in control, more situated. Probably I come home tomorrow howling and ready to quit. But, I think I know where I'm headed with my kids in Language Arts. Each lesson plan comes naturally-- it's not an arduous task that feels like I'm wrestling a manatee out of the water. But, Social Studies on the other hand...

Yes, my life IS this boring. The most exciting part are the books I'm reading and my crazy friends and family. So, I might do a book review.

summation

Here's an excerpt from an email I wrote a friend who never reads my blog. Talking with him is always clarifying, safe and funny. We'll call it the alchemy of friendship.

time zooms by. i am finally coming to turns with my job, relaxing if you will. i get so frustrated with how i think things should be and how they are. but, i shouldn't get uptight about things over which I have nil control. i have the occassional wow moment, but most of the time I feel like i'm learning how to improve my mistakes. there's a lot of trial and error. tallying of the score. then, i stratergerizing to take another whack at teaching. this is going to sound horrible. but, i'm at a loss at how to teach the truly dumb kids. i think i'm going to tatoo it into their brains through repetition. i've been having my kids respond to different art related to the literary element (setting, character, etc) that we've been covering. my mentor told me to keep doing it with my upper kids, but that it was a waste of creativity on my lower ones. she suggested work sheets. i promised myself that i'd never be that kind of teacher. oh well.
but, i'm on the search for an easy Iliad to read them. Probably fewer than half of the kids i'm teaching will graduate; so I feel obligated to expose them as much as possible. Perhaps I'm just overwhelming them.... But, by definition of average-- half the pop has to be below. But, I'm learning how to focus on the good and not to get mired in all the ridiculous and pathetic. i'm bracing myself for parent conferences. a lot of the locals think i'm uppity because of my accent. i chatted on the phone with one dad about what we were studying (islam and judaism); i used the whole knowledge is power logic. it was awesome: this guy in S. explained to me how Obama is the anti-Christ. I'm not a big fan, but please.

and, i feel like my soul is really a work zone right now. I'm not sure what God's up to, but i'm trying to be as pliant and open as the brick I am can be. i read a really good quote by Dallas Willard: "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry."

on generic airborne

I'm fending off a cold with many a dietary supplement (zinc, vitamin c, orange juice, target brand airborne) and sleep. I can feel the cold trying to set up camp in my throat, glands and nasal passages. And, I'm ODing on hand-sanitizer when I think about it as to make up for the times I forget to use it. I wonder if I'm merely postponing the inevitable.

Forget our cess pool of an economy for a moment; cold and flu season is something we can rally against. Team effort. Stay home if you're sick.

I read a great Dallas Willard quotation this weekend: "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry." This quote and the other spiritual reading has given me a much-needed measure of calm and perspective. Now I need to slowly build a social life. God is good, and God is no Santa. I'm trying to be faithful in the tiny.

I had a workday today because of elections. I got a lot done. Of course, I was there ten hours with little interruption. My meeting with my mentor proved encouraging and practical.

I'm tired. I feel like I should care more about the elections than I do. I did vote. But, it's as my spiritual director's assistant said: "God's in control."

cartoons and more!

I have two friends participating in NaNoWriMo. All I have to say is KUDOS. I'm really excited for them. What an intense, crazy fete of self-discipline and ingenuity. I'll keep you posted.

I taught about said political cartoons. I learned a lot. The oldest political cartoon is attributed to Ben Franklin and dated at 1754. It's a unrealistic snake divided into eight segments labeled with the states' initials under it is "Join... or Die". I showed them my favorite cartoon: the one Doug Marlette drew in response to the Challenger disaster in 1986. It's the bald eagle shedding a tear while looking up at a night sky sprinkled with stars. Then we looked at one based on Monty Python. Obama and Hillary are dressed up as medieval knights. Hillary is on the ground with all her limbs laying about her, saying, "Fine, we'll call it a draw" to the departing Obama who's walking gingerly to his next duel. Finally, there was a tic tac toe board. McCain was primed for the next move with the center and bottom left corner. Obama had the other three corners. Some of the kids got that one right away. Some didn't.

I came home early and went to bed. I'm back up for a bit to insure that I'll sleep through the night. I can't rid myself of this bug. Tomorrow is a work day, and I'm excited to get a lot of paper shuffled.

In two days, we'll have a new president elect.

wilmington blitz

The Chief and I headed down to Wilmington to birthday tidings to my lil bro who turns 21 tomorrow. I enjoyed the entire trip. We had beautiful weather-- sunroof open weather. We drove mostly back roads, which makes for a longer but more enjoyable trip. We drove by lots of cotton fields and had lots of rambling conversation. Road trips produce singular conversation; they're a unique spot on the time-space continuum.

The visit was a relaxed, roly-poly, meandering kind of rollick. We read by the pool until J-D could meet us. Then, we went to downtown Wilmington where we strolled and cheered for the Iron Man competitors. They were very close to completion and completely haggard. One guy shocked me by looking me in the eye and thanking me after I cheered for him. Um, you're welcome. Another guy cracked me up when he asked for a short cut.

We ate steak. We watched football. We ate organic pumpkin pie on styrofoam. We enjoyed each other's company. We sat abreast a bench and watched the tide come in for about an hour. We drove and walked my brother's normal routes. We laughed, smiled and chatted. We shopped, and I bought a cachecole or something or other at the art co-op. We ate Mexican, which is an unofficial ritual for turning 21 in our family. My sister's birthday we ate Mexican in Charlottesville, mine in Chapel Hill and J-D in Wilmington. It was coincidence that somehow gained significance. The brother and sister are going to hang out in W-S next weekend.

Tomorrow I'm teaching political cartoons to the entire seventh grade. It should be interesting. I picked some good ones. I hope I do it justice. It was brilliant to get away if just for 36 hours. I should enjoy work more.

I voted Friday, which is worthy of its own post, but I'm tired. The wait was about two hours. We were surrounded by pleasant people whom we chatted up. We shared a party cheat sheet and laughed about how we could talk with each other but had to silence our cell phones. I think there should be an express lane for registered voters. The unregistered really bogged down the process.