National Standards for Education

It's been awhile, and I haven't had time to write openly about education. I thought, considering the high volume of media surrounding Arne Duncan's speech at Columbia and the race toward national standards for education deserves some attention. As a classroom teacher and a current graduate student in a curriculum and instruction program, I like to think I know a little about planning lessons for reading and writing and helping students to pass tests, like the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, which we know is highly important to the well being of our country and our children.

For those of you who are uneducated in education, I thought you might like to know a little bit about why I think national standards are a good idea. Here are my 10 reasons why I support national standards:
1. We all know students in rural Alabama need to learn the same skills for success as students in New York City. It doesn't matter if they live in Alaska or Florida, kids are kids everywhere, after all, and we should hold every American child to the same high level of academic achievement.
2. Because kids are kids everywhere, we know they all bring to school the same life experiences including preschool, good health, and a loving and supportive home, so a good teacher should be able to bring her entire classroom of 22 students to proficiency at the end of the year. Whatever that proficiency is won't matter-- the good teachers will always succeed. Especially if they're paid more.
3. We need standards so we can test every student and measure them all with the same tool. Tests are invaluable to the American public, so they are aware of the failures of the public school system.
4. Testing based on national standards will reinforce white power. We need more white power.
5. According to Duncan, "every student has a gift," and we all know it's an academic gift-- we just have to hold every American student accountable to their blessing.
6. Every American child should attend college, so they need a basic framework of knowledge to enter colleges and it should be the same for everyone. The current recession (depression) has proven that a college education equals a well-paying job with benefits like health care and a safe, stable retirement plan. You will also be able to afford a mortgage, multiple credit cards, student loans, car loans, extravagant vacations, and all the debt you can manage. Ah, the American dream.
7. Knowledge and skills can always be measured empirically, so national, measurable standards in the core subjects just makes sense. We know that reading, writing, and social studies are rarely, if ever, subjective. Science and math are entirely objective. It is reasonable and logical to set objective, measurable goals for our children.
8. All children speak English in America. And anyway, not speaking English is not an excuse for not being able to be academically proficient.
9. Testing is a noble industry. The College Board and ETS know best, and we should support their aims in providing reliable and remarkably accurate measurements of children's knowledge. By allowing representatives of The College Board, ACT, Inc., and Achieve write our core curriculum standards, we keep them in business. What good Americans we are!
10. Finally, teachers really don't know their students best. A strong core curriculum will ensure that every teacher provides exactly what their students need-- a strong set of skills and an acceptance of the knowledge needed to be a good citizen of this great country.

The weeks are lengthening, but Sundays are bright.

Just so you can understand why I am not doing a very good job of communicating with friends, this is my tentative schedule for this week.

Monday
7:30 A.M.-9:30 A.M. Awake & gym time
10:30 A.M.-3:00 P.M. Work at Harrison's
4:00 P.M. Meet in library for discussion group
4:30 P.M.-6:00 P.M. Master's Colloquium in library
6:00 P.M.-9:00 P.M. Foundations of Education Course
9:00 P.M.-Bed Finish reading/assignments for writing class

Tuesday
9:00 A.M. Awake & gym time
Noon- Campus to finish work for writing class and/or read for Thursday and/or lunch
2:45 P.M.-3:50 P.M. Supervisor meeting (ick)
4:15 P.M.-5:30 P.M. Seminar
5:45 P.M.-8:45 P.M. Writing class (yay!)
9:00 P.M.-9:45 P.M. Yoga
10:00 P.M. Ice cream at creamery with Nicole (best night of week!)

Wednesday
7:30 A.M.-9:30 A.M. Awake & gym time
11:00 A.M.-2:00 P.M. Work @ Harrison's
3:00 P.M.-8:00 P.M. Work @ Harrison's
8:00 P.M.-Bed Finish readings for Vygotsky

Thursday
7:30 A.M.-9:30 A.M. Awake & gym time
11:00 A.M.-4:00 P.M. Work @ Harrison's
6:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. Vygotsky

Friday
Free day!!
Checking out some awesome gym classes & doing homework.
**Assuming I do not have to travel for PSU job/will attempt to schedule school appointments for Friday.

Saturday
Homework
4:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M. Work @ Harrison's

Sunday
11:00 A.M. BLOODY MARY BAR @ ALE HOUSE!!! WOOOO!

I told you Sundays are bright! :)

Favorite Foods

I can't do my reading for class if I don't make this list. So, here goes:

Monkey bread
New York Style cheesecake served with Cabernet Sauvignon
Texas steak chili (must make your nose run!)
Pasta Carbonara
Spinach-Artichoke Pizza
Fried eggs
Tuna steak, cooked medium rare
Cheese fries (MUST have bacon & jalapenos & be served with RANCH)
Deviled eggs
Carrot cake
Mexican cornbread
Fried okra
Fruit salad
Sesame chicken
Rainbow rolls
Pineapple
Chorizo & egg breakfast tacos
Vegetable/green chile enchiladas
Squash casserole
Poached eggs over tomatoes
Roasted chicken
Homemade mac -n- cheese
Vegetable curry
Spanish omelette
Paella
Peanut butter & banana sandwiches
Dolmas
Cole slaw with apples
Brats and sauerkraut
Jambalaya
Crab cakes

Obviously, this has something to do with my refusal to go on any sort of diet! Good lord, I love food. Now I can read.

There is nothing more frightening than being alone and having to be completely honest with yourself. Especially after you've been answering the same question constantly to everyone: "Why?" and you've given a million answers, so many answers that make sense and seem logical. And then, you're alone and you look in the mirror, ask yourself, "Why?" and the only answer is:

"I don't know."

And it's the truth. I don't know.

American Idiots.

So often, I am frustrated with Americans.

I don't have the right answers. I don't think anyone-- not our politicians, doctors, researchers, government, advisers, Ph.D.s, watchdogs-- has the right answers. But what about the skills to find some appropriate solutions to our problems?

And then, someone comes up with something that might-- just might-- work, and angry, belligerent idiots shoot it down for moral issues that disregard most solutions anyway. Ugh. I'm so sick of your morals stomping around on my rights.

However-- in regards to the current crisis in health care reform, all I can think about are the kids. I don't give a rat's ass about all of the people who want to hold on to their health care. Good! Great! Please do! If I still had mine, I would-- I do NOT trust the government to provide healthcare for everyone. Look at what the government does for education. Look at what it does for the military. Priorities are in line right there.

But think about kids.

If every child, of every color, socioeconomic standing, and state of health, received superb health care, free of charge, what would it do for this country? If we provided real nutrition to children in our free breakfast and lunch programs-- not mashed up and bread-coated chicken or white bread and ham sandwiches-- think of how it would change the state of health in this nation. If we were able to provide our kids with the best in medicine, maybe they could have the tools to really figure out this whole tangle for the long term.

Maybe, just maybe, health care reform for our children is the key to improving education so that we may leave future generations with the tools to do better for themselves than we can for ourselves right now.

If you would let me advise Washington, and I don't have all the answers, just one possible path to a solution, I would tell them: provide for our children and we will be OK.

If we're living by human-made rules, we can change human-made rules. We don't have to keep playing the same game the same way.

And that's my 2 cents.

25 and A-live!

Yes, folks, I survived my 25th birthday and I am still here to write about it. Definitely a tame day, but loads of fun, even though it wasn't hot enough to go swimming-- a favorite birthday past time for this summer baby. So what did I fill my day with instead?

It being Friday, Matthew and I made our weekly trip to the downtown farmer's market. The market was hopping! We picked out tons of goodies, including: spinach, cookies, pesto, noodles, cantaloupe, plums, tomatoes, a black bell pepper, squash, carrots, potatoes, and of course, our weekly bouquet of fresh-cut flowers. I spent $7 on this bouquet-- a steal considering how much a similar bouquet would cost at a local store! And they'll last just as long. So far, I'm really pleased with the flowers.

We picked up some wine and I was introduced to Back Yard Burgers, the most delicious fast food chain of all time. I'm seriously confused. Fast food? Delicious? What? I have to give those burgers a serious high-five-- that is some damn good meat.

Matt treated me to a meat-free Indian dinner that included a dish (I cannot spell it) of potatoes, chickpeas, and spinach, an 8-vegetable curry, rice, samosas, and naan. Almost every vegetable in each dish was something that we had locally purchased and Matt had bought the curry spice in Ecuador. Ben baked a chocolate and tamarind cake. I'd never had tamarind before, but I really liked it: sweet, citrus-y, and a little richer and thicker in texture and flavor than an orange. We invited new friends, Jessica and Billy, over for dinner and wine-- it was a great night!



I've been looking forward to today ever since I arrived in Pennsylvania-- the Centre County Farm Tour! I'd been debating farms all week, and had a list narrowed down to seven farms. I was only able to visit three this year; I could have toured four if I had got a move on a little earlier in the day, but I found two farms I'm really pleased with and looking forward to visiting more often! The first farm I visited was the Tait Farm. This is the farm I bought the delicious basil pesto from at the farmer's market, and I was able to take a self-guided tour around the farm. In Vegetable, Animal, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver talks about her asparagus patch and how beautiful it is to see the asparagus grow past their cutting. The Tait Farm had a 4-year-old asparagus patch that I'm assuming will be ready for harvesting early next spring. Check out these long, willowy beauties:

Yes, that is asparagus! Really, a beautiful plant-- and I'm looking forward to early spring when I can chomp down on some fresh asparagus. It's one of my favorite foods, and I wish it was ready today!

At the next farm, Piper's Hill, there were plenty of animals to see: chickens, ducks, roosters, cows, a couple of very handsome dogs, and peacocks! Apparently, there were also goats somewhere, but I didn't see them. This was really my favorite farm of the day, and I bought a dozen eggs, a pound of ground beef, and some Honolulu beef jerky made with pineapple juice-- that jerky was so good, I already ate all of it! I also reserved my Thanksgiving turkey-- one of the cute little fellas sitting on the left-hand side here. Aren't they cute? Little do these guys know, but they will all be on Thanksgiving tables this fall. I guess it helps that they'll grow up to be a lot uglier than they are now!

AND-- it makes me feel really good to know that my turkey will be living a very happy, albeit short, life. He's free range and organic, and he gets to wander around a farm with all of his duck and chicken buddies. That's one happy stinkin' turkey (day) if you ask me.



More pictures from Piper Hill:

Happy cows are from Pennsylvania!

Ducks-- I think I scared the momma duck off her nest, and I felt bad for it!

Peacock!

In contrast to the Piper Hill Farm was the Amish farm I went to-- it wasn't on my original list, and I had never seen them at the farmer's market. I was disappointed in the general farming practices of the Amish. Your natural assumption would be that the Amish practice sustainable farming methods, not just out of respect for the earth, but also because it's more traditional. This is not at all what I observed today-- it was a conventional dairy farm, complete with very unhappy dairy cows living in their own waste, confined to fairly small quarters, and never let out to pasture. This is not the case for all of the Amish, in fact, there is an Amish farm that is a regular at the farmer's market that sells raw milk-- and you have to be a very well kept, organic, sustainable farm with grass-fed cows to be licensed to sell raw (unpasteurized) milk. But what I saw today was just... disappointing. The cheese was good (and I did buy a block-- there has to be a reason PASA supports this farm), but these cows just don't look as happy.

There was a funny moment at the Amish farm, though, when one of the cows got out of her building and went running across the road. Our young guide, Paul, and his older sister had to chase the rogue back into her building. I suspect she knew it was about time to be milked, because she was headed right toward the milking building!














What a day! I'm so thankful for living in a place now that has such a rich and abundant local food supply. There are plenty of places to get local meats, cheeses, and vegetables in Texas, but the communities to support buying locally are not quite as loud and vocal as they are here in Pennsylvania! I do want to encourage all of my friends, especially those of you in Texas, to please visit www.slowfoodusa.org or www.localharvest.org and look into local foods available in your area. It really has been more cost effective for us, and it's been one enjoyable adventure to discover what foods are currently being grown locally and how to prepare them with as few store-bought items as possible. And, when I think about it, with so many food options here, it seems awfully silly to purchase tons of food from California!

Twenty-five and alive-- and eating well to stay that way!

To sign or not to sign... the dotted line?

I have a true loathing for corporations, especially corporate restaurants. Mostly because I have the opportunity to avoid them. But that's all that has been willing to hire me here. I have about a week to back out, if other offers that fit my schedule arise.

Could be fascinating to infiltrate the corporation from a blogging/ amateur-journalist view point. You think?

I smashed the Praxis I today. ETS. I hate you, too.

In other news: I received confirmation today that I am hired as a field instructor in the Curriculum and Instruction Field Experiences office at PSU. Basically, that means I will be supervising some undergraduate pre-service teachers, and I couldn't be more satisfied. I can stay in the schools, in a role that I think will suit me well, and I can talk with other people about teaching all day. What could I possibly enjoy more? If I can get all of my hours completed by the end of the summer, then hopefully I will meet enough people to work myself into a position at a local school next year and take my thesis slowly. I want it to be well thought out.

I have bread that's about to come out of its machine. Overall, a damn good day.

What's the glamour in a cigarette?

This is mostly shameful. I was a smoker.


Was, as in, I don't consider myself to be one anymore. And yes, I'm ashamed to admit I ever fell trap to cigarette smoking. It's disgusting, filthy, and unhealthy. I knew all of these things when I picked up a cigarette for the first time some years ago. I have a lot of reasons why, a lot of other people I could blame, but when it comes down to it, I'm the one who made the decision to inhale. And I did often over the last six years.

In order to quit smoking, I had to pack up everything I owned, make a huge joint investment of time and money, and relocate many states away. What didn't work? Abstaining from alcohol. Abstaining from food. Abstaining from friends. Running a freakin' marathon. No, it took a major relocation.

For the last six weeks or so, I've only slipped a few times-- out drinking in Denton or Austin, mainly. But over the last two weeks, I haven't had a single cigarette. Not one. And although I want one, and yes, often I really want one, I haven't broken down to buy a pack or bummed off someone nearby. I have about two more weeks to really cement this in: to get my full 30 days before Mark gets here and very likely brings a pack of cigarettes.

So I have to ask myself: What's the glamour in a cigarette?

I can stink and smell. Have yellow teeth and worry about cavities. I'll need to spit like a camel and blow snot out of my nose constantly. I get cravings in embarrassing places-- like out having a drink with a co-worker who doesn't know I smoke, or worse: a group of runners. I can't wear a pair of jeans twice if I went to the bar in them, and that usually makes some of my favorite pairs unwearable at work on Fridays. My nose gets dry and bleeds sometimes. Smoky places dry out my contacts quickly. I can't run as fast. My hair has to be washed constantly. I don't want to get in clean sheets at night without a shower. Kissing. Kissing is a big worry. Especially if the guy I'm kissing doesn't smoke (and believe it or not, there have been a few who have put up with that!). Food doesn't taste as good. Sugary drinks are weird tasting instead of being a nice treat. I'm often dehydrated. My fingers smell. I cough. And cough. And cough. Especially in the spring, when I'm sick anyway, and then it gets magnified by the addition of a smoker's cough. I never want to smoke when I'm sick, but then I start smoking again anyway. How gross is that? My throat hurts more often. My ears get clogged. I have to crop my cigarettes out of pictures. I have to worry about who has pictures of me smoking cigarettes. I'll probably get the angry-looking lip wrinkles. I want a cigarette when I'm pissed off. I want a cigarette when I'm stopped by a cop. I have to worry about cancer. I have to worry about birth control. I have to worry about blod clots. I feel guilty. A lot. I have to lie to people about not smoking. I think about smoking. I have to admit to smoking in my blog.

All for what? A slightly speedier metabolism and something to hold while I've got a glass in the other hand?

I'm done. I promise. I'm really freaking done.

I heart PA!

Dear friends,
I sincerely apologize for not blogging.
I'm going to make a fair attempt to catch you up on the week.
Love you,
Katie

Mom and I left for our most epic road trip of all time on Monday. We drove through Texas (for hours) and Arkansas in pelting rain (unbelievable, I know!), and made it to Nashville, Tennessee to spend the night. Nashville is a fascinating city, but I didn't get to see nearly enough of it. But Tennessee, oh Tennessee, I am in love. Green, flourishing, beautiful, and home of Jack Daniels. I know, you scoff, I rarely drink whiskey, but it does hold a fond place in my heart for the time that preceeds my 23rd birthday. I will be back to Tennessee.

It should be noted that I selected out listening choice for the road trip: Barbara Kingsolver's Vegetable, Animal, Miracle. You must read it. Must. Must read. Even better, listen to it. Kingsolver's voice is soft and poetic, and her husband's and daughter's voices truly add character to their included essays. I want to eat locally! I want to raise chickens! I even want to cut their cotton-pickin' heads off! Then eat them! A paradigm shift happens when things we typically see as "disgusting" and "nasty," like decapitating and plucking chickens or turkey sex, seem like extraordinary events I am completely missing out upon and I no longer want to be deprived of the joys related to growing, raising, and preparing my own food. Locavores don't seem so "loco" any more. In fact, Matthew and I are committed to weekly trips on Fridays to the Farmers Market and we're going on the 2009 Farm Tour to visit our local farms and inquire about how to purchase some meat locally. Yum! Not to mention, that seriously-- the Amish guy who sold me eggs is really attractive. It's a little strange, I realize, but he is... well... .gorgeous. No lie, ladies. My mom, Matthew, & Ben ALL agreed.

What did we get at the farmers market? This delicious spread of veggies:
The bag has zucchini cheese bread in it. We also bought a shoo-fly pie, which is a little like a brown sugar Pop-tart, but improved. I also bought eggs, a jar of jalepenos, and some rasberry-chipotle preserves. Yes, I found a sweet woman who likes her food spicy (she was a teacher, too!).

Fortunately for Ms. Kingsolver, Mom and I didn't go loco on her and show up at her farm. Humorously enough, we did drive right through the town in Virginia where her mailing address is located. We considered a detour, but can you imagine what we would say if we just drove on up there? It would not have been pretty. But the countryside certainly was!

To be honest, the drive through the rest of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland was fairly boring. We stopped in Gettysburg, PA, for the night-- we had to visit three different hotels to finally find a room. But the one we ended up in had a jacuzzi tub, and I enjoyed the best bubble bath of my life. The bubbles rose up above my head, and I couldn't stop giggling from shear joy. Truly movie-star like.

We toured Hershey's Chocolate World. It was pretty darn silly. These ladies gave us a tour of the chocolate making process:Come visit me, and I'll take you! It's silly, but we had a good time.

The Good Stuff: State College
Matthew and I get along well, and have already been very productive. We even built our own bathtub, since our apartment didn't come with one. Isn't he great?

OK, yes, we do actually have a bathtub. We just broke out the silliness while creating our first artistic piece for the living space since our apartment didn't come with LIGHTS. Whoever built this place also had a lamp factory and needed to ensure they could keep the lamp factory in business. To really stick it to the man, we created our own light source. We found a vase and a crummy stained lampshade at the Goodwill and created a very lovely lamp.

HAHA- WE STUCK IT TO YA, LAMP-MAN!

Oh yes, we've stayed busy. Matthew has the kitchen organized beautifully, and we've been hunting furniture and working on the living room. We grabbed some more FREE lamps off the curb today and finally have the lighting situated for our living area.

In addition to fighting the lamp factory, we've also managed to

plant some herbs,

create an original piece of art,


and cook a few good meals.

All in a week's work.

I'm sure I've broken all rules of appropriate blog-length, so for those of you still reading, I'll post again soon (tomorrow, hopefully) with some real stories from the week.

Oh, and I hear you guys in Texas got a cold front. Congratulations!

Missed Connections

I can't help it; yes, I am a sick, sad, and depraved individual. I'm out to manipulate, to fantasize, to wonder. At least once (and sometimes twice) a week, I make a point to read some of the personal ads on Craigslist. Many are less than appetizing, some are humorous, quite a few are just plain disappointing. But my favorite indulgence is, by far, the Missed Connections page.

I guess it started when Amanda (yeah, I'm 90% positive) was on a Missed Connections ad. It was one perverted message, but led to many laughs around the bar table. It's a feeling I assume a line of cocaine is like-- you just want a little bit more. All the time. Who's next? I spend my time around fairly attractive, interesting folk, so you would think I'd stumble upon another great Missed Connections ad for any of my friends. As of yet, none have turned up.

And what about me? Is there a weird spot in me looking for that one that slipped by in the Chick-fil-A line? Did someone at the movies spot me out and decide they had to go immediately to Craigslist and post an ad stating that our connection was missed? Or what if I cut off someone in traffic-- are they pissed off enough to post their peeve publicly? Nah. No connection, just entirely... ignored. At least no one wants to bang my....OK, I won't go there, Amanda!

Really, I'm most curious as to the stories here. I want to be like Ira Glass in This American Life; I want to know the stories. Don't you? Which ones are really police officers setting up an unknowing criminal? Certainly, they're out there, right? Why did "David's" mom give him up for adoption, and why is her sister now looking for this long-lost nephew-- what sparked the search? Why are all of these married people so desperately unhappy? And what was it about her next-door neighbor in the Dallas hotel that struck her, so as to write a little ad welcoming a one-night stand on her last night in town?

And, of course, I want to know the answer to the ultimate question on the Missed Connections page: Are you gay, too? I wonder how effective the Missed Connections page is in establishing relationships (or sometimes, just hook-ups) for gay people. It must be rough, not really knowing if that hot guy in the grocery is gay or straight (I've had a few of those wonderings myself...).

Each one a little thread of people-- of relationships lost, failed, doomed, unexplored, unknown, or perhaps, after just that one little blue line of hyperlink, things might be looking up.

The book is always better than the movie.

I just don't understand this: Why can't Hollywood take a perfectly good story line and accurately transpose it to film? Understandably, cuts must sometimes be made for the sake of time, but the basic storyline should stay in tact. No one seems to care about the integrity of the story!

This rant follows my viewing of My Sister's Keeper. I decided I wanted to see a movie tonight, and I knew that there wasn't a soul to take, and even if there was, I can't drag anyone I know to see a sad movie. Perfect. That means I can cry alone in a dark theater without the embarrassment of family & friends passing me greasy popcorn napkins. If you care about the plot-- beware of spoilers.

Although I wasn't thrilled about My Sister's Keeper, I figured this was the opportunity to see it. I read the book, and I have this annoying habit of imagining the movie (or play) while reading the book. I knew it could make a fantastic movie! But the screenwriter failed to develop the characters and wasted a lot of time with montages of nothingness. The lone brother walked around town a lot doing nothing. Seriously, there were about three scenes of this. Do you know what he's doing in the book? Burning shit. Way cooler. But no, the choice was just to have him wandering a city & hopping on & off a bus (The kid is supposed to be old enough to drive-- can we at least get a solid fast car scene?).

And I'm just not ready to buy Cameron Diaz as the mother of teenagers. I guess she wants to push her limits from silly to serious, but she's simply not convincing. I don't know why I'm willing to buy Jennifer Anniston as a mother in Marley & Me, but not Cameron Diaz. She just isn't very maternal, I think. Sorry, Cameron.

Then-- the ending! The ending is totally different! Like, not even CLOSE to the same! The WRONG KID DIES! That is a major flaw in the adaptation. Basically, the screenwriter failed to write the entire climax. You want to make someone cry? People die of cancer. Kids die. We've seen this in movies, read it in books. You make people cry by killing the HEALTHY sister. Jodi Piccoult understood this-- she twisted your expectations. Hollywood fail. Book win.

Gah. I'm disappointed. A tear-jerker can't even make me cry. You just make me mad about the writing & direction! You know you suck at making tear-jerker movies when Katie isn't crying. Get a new job.

/end rant.

Happy Independence Day!

I made it through the holiday spending time with the family instead of out and about Austin or DFW, as I would have liked to do. For the sake of nostalgia, I wandered down to Yettie Polk Park and checked out the fiddlers, fried food, and fair fun. I was tempted to buy a bottle-top necklace with the Texas flag painted on it, but held back. It would be a little cheesy for me to walk around PA with a Texas flag around my neck, right?

Dad grilled burgers today-- and pineapple to top them with! Oh gosh, that was AMAZING. We've definitely made burgers withe pineapple in the meat in Denton, but I have never put a fat chunk of fresh, grilled pineapple on my burger. That's called fireworks in the mouth!

I finished J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey today which was a worthwhile read. I almost wish I had read it a few years ago, about the time I was reading Siddhartha. They would have complimented one another well. I've been in a spiritual funk, and honestly-- I don't mind it. I just have never been one for putting religion or spirituality on the back burner. It's nice almost, not thinking and just accepting. I don't have energy for religious seriousness anymore, I burnt it all out as a teenager, and maybe that's OK. I never want to be religious again anyway. But to deny the spiritual self is to deny a lot of life. Even practicing yoga would bring a little of that awareness back to me, and I'd like that.

The fireworks were nice, but not the best I'd ever seen. I almost wish I had gone alone. I hope next year I can celebrate the Fourth in Philadelphia, or New York, or D.C. Somewhere with a wild, raucous celebration!

Happy Fourth of July!

A poem written as I entered Year 24.

I wrote this on my birthday last year, a little drunk, but gloriously full of love. One year is coming full circle in a matter of a month- I dig this.

Late night habits
My boys
with lusty lingering eyes
My girls
Reciprocating with high class
I
Anticipate a year of life-long
Memories
See-you laters
And no good-byes
Late night habits
and long drives home

I used OxiClean in memory of Billy Mays today.

Although Kobe has yet to shit in the bathtub, he has already landed fat ones on both of my mom's laundry room rugs. Bastard.

After the wedding last night, I got a text message from the one guy I dated semi-seriously in high school. We texted back & forth for a bit, and he invited me out to have a couple of beers at his friend's house. It wasn't too far from my parent's house, so I headed over there and had a few beers. I'm glad I was drinking: ex-boyfriend=biggest douche of all ex-boyfriends. Details to be shared privately (ask & you shall receive).

The victory of the night is that I managed to drink at the wedding & at the gathering of douches and managed not to smoke one cigarette! Not a puff, even! It took a large amount of willpower & it probably really helped that I worked out yesterday. I did have cigarette-smoking dreams last night, though, a real raw throat included. Overcoming addiction is just as difficult as everyone says it is. I'm positive I'm in the right mindset to put this past me though, for good.

I'm headed up to Denton tomorrow for the Continuity Day with NSTWP, and I'm looking for a place to crash after our get-together. I'll be in town through Tuesday, early.

Go ahead, pass this on to anyone in need of douchebag affirmation:

Down in B-Town

Fair enough, here's what's going down in B-town:

A) My cats are adjusting well; in fact, they're thriving. My parents LOVE them, and I think they like not having a dog around to chase them. Layla has no interest in going outside, currently, which I think is surprising. I took them both to the vet today; they each have a clean bill of health, all of their shots, and some de-fleaing, heart-worm preventative meds. I have two very happy kitties.

B) Mom donated a two-week free pass to a gym in Harker Heights to me which was very nice of her. It's alright-- it's small, and I liked being a lost soul in the UNT gym because I knew no one had any idea what I was doing. I felt like a doofus today, studying some of their machinery, because I'm not used to some of it. Fortunately, a one-hour training session also comes with the pass, so I'm hoping to learn something about their machines-- and maybe free weights? I'd like to learn enough to work out on my own. Also notable, the BHS Natatorium is open for public swims, so I think I'm going to hit up some lap swims this week there. I won't sit around & get fat!

C) I've been reading quite a bit. I finished Skinny Bitch which pissed me off despite its few good points. I also read Three Cups of Tea, but it was the kids version (Mom had it on hand). I have the gist of the story, but I know I'm missing out on the good details of the trials in Greg Mortenson's Pakistani-Afghani venture. He's really pretty amazing, and I'd like to read the real deal. Also picked up The Art of Making Money today at Barnes & Noble because I listened to an interview with the author, Jason Kersten, on NPR on my way to Belton. Incredibly captivating-- it's about a master counterfeiter, Art Williams, and how he dodged the law and eventually was caught. The writing is amazing (Jason Kersten works for The Rolling Stone), and the story is incredulous. So far, so good. Still looking for Lamb, and seeing as my sports bras & jewelry showed up today, I'm sure it's next! I really want to finish that dang book! My daytime reading is about to be Civil Disobedience, but I have yet to embark on that literature-- need a good coffee break.

Anyway-- I'm disappointed I'm missing Trebuchet tonight and JP & Shannon's wedding tomorrow, but I am attending my cousin's half-brother's wedding tomorrow evening which will surely be a (drunken) blast. Still on the lookout for a cheap winner of a bike and some extra cashflow.

Love ya kids!

MJ!

Today, unfortunately, was a sad day; the day the world lost the King of Pop. It's bizarre-- Michael Jackson... dead? No more "Wacko Jacko" stories? No more Blanket stories? No more masks? The music already seemed gone, but the world is certainly a little less weird today.

Unfortunately, can't embed MJ videos from YouTube, so I'm just going to encourage you to visit the Michael Jackson channel on YouTube. Beat It.

Back in Belton

So, today was the day I left Denton. It still doesn't quite feel right, knowing I am no longer a resident of the Little D. A strange feeling has sat in my stomach today, I'm incapable of describing it; I only know it is a product of my emotions.

I'm trying to be positive about spending a month here with my parents and my brothers. I'm glad I have a unique opportunity to reconnect with my family here before I leave them for another state. I also figure I should get to know Temple/Belton a little better, since I have been away for 6 years and tend to find myself a little puzzled about where things are. After a frustration on 57th street in Temple today, followed by a frustrated exit from Target (the Temple city planners might be smoking crack-- you can't easily get from Target to the Loop!), I started to plan a list of things I should do here. Here's the start of the list.

Before I leave Central Texas I will:
-Find a recycling center and implement a recycling program at my parents' house
-Visit the train museum
-Eat a burger at Crow's
-Listen to some free music
-Go to the lake!
-Find a good non-Starbucks coffee shop to read/write in
-Spend a day at a park
-Make myself sick on Mexican food so I don't miss it too much in Pennsylvania
-See some movies I haven't seen (recommendations welcome-- Jason works at the video store! I can catch up on all of this movie watching I haven't done!)
-Figure out that mess on the Loop that I don't understand


Fair list. I promise to write about my adventures and post pictures/videos as often as possible!