treasure time

double move!

2010-11-21T20:24:00.001-08:00

i moved here!!! DON'T GIVE UP ON ME NOW BABY!

after the poetry test . . .

2010-05-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

after the poetry test, we made some decorations . . . (p.s. i love hughes & dikinson, but this is what was turned in and it killed me. the higher frequency of hughes' may mean his fan base is funnier or that i just didn't print enough emilys).

dig it!

2010-05-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

today i saw a 65ish year old woman with a grace jones fade letting her pomeranian help her drive down the highway with the windows down. it was basically magic.

best of the week

2010-04-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

the warm-up for one of the days this week was "if you could visit anywhere in the world where would it be?" these are my favorite responses:

"french."

"i would go to paris france by the eiffel tower and eat pasta."
(when i told another class about this one, someone said)
"wait, paris people are not italy."

"i would go to heaven to see all God's powerful creatures like Addonias."
p.s. i think she got this from a si-fy movie, but when i googled it, all i got was this bobo website.

"i would like to visit china because i think they're going to have flying cars soon."

after school, there were 3 kids staying back to do work. they realized they each had asperger's disorder and starting talking about what they had dealt with so far. they each named a variety of meds and how they messed them up. one girl said that she used to be so o.c.d. that when she was collecting rocks, she would try and dig them out of the sidewalk (if it was like a cement/gravel blend) until her little fingers bled. it was cool to see them all connecting even if it was a bummer to hear about the hard times. anyway, they were talking about the outdoors and one of the boys said,

"oh yeah, i saw a mountain lion at yellowstone." and the girl said,
"mannn. why does everyone see a mountain lion but me?! i've been looking for one my whole life."

i started losing it at the emphatic proclamation, and she followed up with,

"what? people think i'm country because i've been near a moose."

"nuff said," i thought, "nuff said."

what?!

2010-04-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

p.s. today i had on a green someone and someone told me i looked like a skittle!
p.s.s. this student had a book of stamps, and goes, "what's the big one for" (the label). after trying to explain that it was not for large letters or packages, i just gave up.

black beauty

2010-04-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

i think i'm okay with eventually being one of those people with stuffed animals in the back of their windshields.
i

asparagus with poached eggs and parmesean

2010-04-25T17:50:00.000-07:00

my first successful egg poaching. i like my eggs poached at about 5 min & 30 sec which might be a bit long. ain't life a gas?!

nashville cats

2010-04-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

so, i've done it again b/c it was a busy week. nonetheless, the spring break/nashville update (chronologically from bottom to top):
1-2: kitty hang out sesh at a custard shop
3: h&j's cat wesley!
4: friends making cupcakes!
5: h at work owning it!
6: b&s at mule day (which was awesome and in my mom's hometown)
7: mule caboodle
8: roll tide t and mini mule
9: sweet eagle tat and baby
10: garden babies
11: sweet jean jacket
12: lawn ornaments
13: b and a mule! or maybe a horse!
14: me w/a mule with a headband (don't even ask how difficult it was trying to explain why i thought this bridle joint was a headband to the owner)
15: mule queen float
16: trailer of famous painting mule "amazing grace" that can slam dunk. the inscription reads, "amazing grace the mule who stared in get low with robert duvall."
17: hillbilly taco
it was super rad!

chronolgical amends!

2010-04-04T17:20:00.000-07:00

oh man, so whatta crazy ride this spring has been so far. so busy! newayz! here's the phone photograph update chronologically from the bottom to the top.

a. thinking map for why digimon should be stricken from the world (practice s.o.l. prompt)
b. portrait of Christ in a student's head
c. rachel and i went to see robert w. in philly via richmond.
d. EGGIES!
e. west african drum circle jam in philly after delicious empanadas!
f. my greeting one morning on the way into school. and ENTIRE can of breakfast cheetos across
the whole hallway.
g. alex's abandoned bagel sculpture.
h. boxing sculpture by famed richmond flea market folk artist at matt and pinson's in rva for a
serendipitous stop in!
i. kitty pretends to eat a wooden hamburger.
j. portrait of me with lego hair!
k. my 7-5-7- haiku about where i stay.
l. easter!
m. kitty, the fighting champion!

today's . . .

2010-03-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

in response to "what would you like for the older generation to understand about the younger generation?"

"My generation is not what everyone take us as. We're the future doctors, lawyers, mom-n-dads, the people that's going to make a differances."

In response to, "What is the best invention ever?"

Back in the 1900's, it would take day's to get in touch with your love ones.

"I believe the horseless carriage has changed the way people live the most because it has made travel faster and has definitely made food and supplies more accessible to thriving cities."

s.o.l. v.i.p. roll call!

2010-02-28T14:05:00.000-08:00

in honor of the writing s.o.l. this week (plz. send prayers) here are some of the most amazing sections of s.o.l. practice prompt responses.

In response to, "What's the best invention ever?"

If Henry Ford never created the assembly line and the automobile, the Wright Brorthers might have not though about the airplane or the bike. To think if we had no airplanes; how would we travel from each continent? Humans would have to ride whales from each continent. That would be very bizzare and prehistoric. Think about it in the year 2010, were all riding Killer Whales, and Blue Whales to get from New York, NY to Paris, France.

In response to, "If you could talk to anyone, with whom would you speak and why"

Another good reason why you should feel comforable to talk to someone, that's close with you is. Because you can't always keep everything bottled up in your heart. That's the main way that people start to lose hair.

snake eyes

2010-02-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

today at school, this kid said:
kid: ms. carter, i think i saw you.
me: yea? where?
kid: at the strip mall . . . you know what strip mall? you were playing dice out back.
me: me?! really? i wish i did that! like throwing dice off the building?
kid: what? it wasn't you? i mean, it was some lady that looked just like you with red hair.
me: i wish . . .

then, minutes later he said:

"when you stand right there in that light, it looks like you don't have no eyes. like, they're totally white."
me: "enough! you people already told me i have snake eyes! i can't help it!"
class: "oh yeah, you do have snake eyes."
curtain.

treasure city

2010-02-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

amazing artifacts of recent living!

i watched all these movies

2010-02-01T19:03:00.000-08:00

in light of all these really intelligent interviews i've read in the past, i'm simply going to give these movies an arbitrary grade:

C

C-

B+

A-

D

A!

perfect snow sound track

2010-01-31T18:34:00.000-08:00

it came up a big snow. this is what i listened to on the way to my moms. i listened to les paul and mary ford's "a class act."

then, we did all this:

then, i listened to this:

then this happened:

sister gertrude morgan

2010-01-27T16:32:00.000-08:00

my friend ruthie was talking a bit ago about something her professor said about artists. or maybe just poets, but i think it can be extended generally too (forgive me if not!). the main idea i got from it though, was that her professor said that artists are often people of obsession that just get really engrossed in one idea and camp there for a large body of work. i think it's totally true, and i believe in obsession and also think it's very fun. i used to be much more obsessed and then got really tired for a while.

anyway, my recent fixation is on sister gertrude morgan, a gospel singer from louisiana. my friend diana got me her cd when she was just visiting (go saints!) and it's pretty much just sister g. singing and playing tambourine. her rhythm is perfect and occasionally irregular but i really like her songs. a lot of them are about scripture, but they're celebratory and awesome. my favorite one is called "way in the middle of the air" and it's about ezekial seeing a wheel within a wheel in the sky.

i can't sister gertrude's recording, but i couldn't remember the wheel within a wheel story to save my life, so i re-read it and found this crazy pic. in case you didn't grow up in church, they're usually aren't magical pictures like this accompanying scripture readings! apparently, ezekial saw 4 seraphim, each with two faces, and four wheels with wheels inside them that had eyes. i've heard lots of interpretations of this from prophecy about Christ's first coming to u.f.o.'s but i love this story so much.

back to sister gertrude, she said she heard the voice of God tell her to be a street evangelist at the age of 38 and left her husband and family and went to new orleans. while there she helped start and orphanage and later felt like she was being told she was a bride of Christ and began dressing in a white habit and painting. i have mixed feelings of this series of events and of what i know of God, but look how rad these paintings are:

i think she talks about Jesus being an airplane a lot. anyway, i couldn't find a recording of her version of the wheel in a wheel song, but i did find this version that a bunch of kids in some church did. it could be better, or at least tie.

i like to m-o-v-e it, m-o-v-e it!

2010-01-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

subtitle: world's worst zumba teacher.

i love aerobic exercise. i do. i completely realize that it's not cool. and i'm okay with that. one day i want to be an aerobics teacher (step, floor, etc. doesn't matter!) and do my own mash ups. well, a girl's gotta dream!

so in my pursuit of this dream i started taking a zumba class (careful, this link has music). it's this latin-inspired dance aerobic hybrid thing that was fun the first class. the first class i was preoccupied with how beautiful it was that a room full of primarily white, nonrhythmic women were just trying and dancing and loving it. this class i was concerned with how absolutely bogus the teacher is.

i mean, i'm all for enthusiasm (even at the cost of technique sometimes), but baby girl straight peaced out on the class, stopped giving instruction and was just dancing A LOT. she even said, "oh sorry! i guess i just lost you guys there." this wouldn't have been a problem if we knew what we were doing, but we didn't and also there were some mentally retarded adults in the class trying to learn the moves. not cool eureka! not cool! (oh yeah, her name is eureka!)

also, she had a 4-5 move repitoire which is not gonna hold me for an hour. i'm particularly great dancer, but even i was bored! not to mention, the yipping and strange latin sounds that she and the other members of the class are encouraged to make despite anyone of hispanic heritage being present. also, tonight there was someone there dancing it up that looked like an eastern european peasant. but she was wearing a buret instead of the helment in that picture.

anyway, i will now pay homage to my aerobic hero (a tie between my mom and her hero joannie gregainns). WATCH ALL THE COMMERCIALS THEY'RE PERFECT!

one reason why today is perfect

2010-01-24T12:05:00.000-08:00

2. i saw lots of little animals today. this squirrel was literally 4 ft from my head when i walked out the door, and froze when i came out. i was like, "hey little dude," in a voice presumably belittling to a squirrel and he of course didn't respond. i also saw two different dogs in cars, eyes closed in ecstasy as they drank in all the aromatic delights of the warmer day.

3. our landlord came to fix some stuff and we're getting a new microwave! it still works fine but the handle fell off. ain't that a shame? no, seriously though. apparently they just don't sell handles.

*a note on #1. i didn't eat all that food, but i feel like buffets are so busted i don't feel bad about extravagantly eating a couple bites of each thing. also, the blue gelatin thing was not mine, but i wanted to document it just in case my dad gets food poisoning. fingers crossed!

jello mold!

2010-01-20T15:14:00.000-08:00

things that have happened to/around me involving students recently:

1. a student told me i looked stupid for trying too hard to help him pass my class (in a lot meaner words). first time i ever cried in front of a student while telling him what was up in the hallway.

2. first time i ever called security on a kid that smelled so much like weed it filled the whole classroom. seriously, i couldn't focus while writing on the board it was so stinky. THEN i later saw him dancing as one of the dancing liberty tax people on his suspension day.

3. had students rename me alize because sarah didn't suit me. last year it was roxy.

4. laughed so hard at a student trying to get me to remember someone i previously taught by saying, "you know! malcolm! with the baby voice! baby voice malcolm!" then another students said, "oh, malcolm with the square head?" i initially though, poor malcolm, but then i remembered who he was and didn't feel so bad.

5. today while yelling in a forceful voice for this giant glob of students to go away (there's a teacher who's m.i.a. and her kids are rough i promise i'm not a jerk) another student was trying to get my attention and couldn't so he full on bear hugged me and picked me off the ground. do you know how hard it is to yelling at someone when your feet aren't on the ground and you can't breathe?! hard!

so much wonderfulness and terribleness always mixed together. kind of reminds me of like a jello fruit mold fruit mixed in or something. or like this picture! i was madd stoked but making a weird face. what are you gonna do though, dude?

holloweeny

2010-01-13T18:19:00.000-08:00

i have been waiting so long to tell you this. on holloween, there was a rogue bike left on the side of the road of our street. then it disappeared, and this sign appeared.

please explain.

(the sound of sirens)

2010-01-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

ATTENTION LAYDEES AND GENTS!!!!!!!!!!
allllllll new in 2k10!
after 2 long years of trying to figure it out:
pictures from my cell phone.
be prepared for:
THE BEST OF NORFOLK'S TWEETY PARAPHERNALIA!

PET SHENANIGANS!

STUFF I WANNA BUY BUT SHOULDN'T!

b2skool

2010-01-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

so, today at school, this girl told me that my "eyes look scary because they ain't got no color in them." i just laughed and then pitched it to another student a little later to survey a wider audience. she said, "yeah, your eyes is greenish. they look like snake eyes." what?!

thankfully, this also happened:
one of my sweetest students came by to hug my neck after the break, and i said, "what'd you get for christmas?" he just smiled. IT WAS A DIAMOND STUDDED GRILL! or rhinestones or whatev. perfect.

in other news, i realized while walking into the school building, a somber and chilly venture marked by no talking to other freezing walkers, that i have a coat similar to the woman in front of me . . . AND I LEFT IT AT THE CLEANERS 2 MONTHS AGO. i went after school to see, but it wasn't there. luckily, it was in the closet when i got home and i felt less insane. 2k10 could be a wacky one!

luckily, i found this boring but important video:

2k10

2010-01-05T18:26:00.000-08:00

christmas was cool and restful. we had a movie and chinese food on christmas day for a change. then i went on a vacation to charlotte, ashville, and nashville. somehow, these were the only pictures i took with my new camera, but i saw at least 10 people i like very much and then met at least another 10 i would like to know very much. i got to play tunes and give/get lots of hugs, eat lots of food, and noogies. what's not to like? p.s. pics are in reverse chronology.

technology bites

2009-12-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

i have blogged many times in my mind in the past couple weeks, but haven't gotten it to the dang screen. one reason for this is my new phone won't let me get my pictures from my phone to the screen. disconnect. i'm sure if i tried i could get to the bottom of this, it would be okay but i haven't had time nor patience to do so lately.

on of the main problems is, in a blaze of self-confidence, i replaced my hard drive this summer. in doing so, i didn't realize i would be losing a bunch of necessary drivers/plugs/patches/back patch-butt-flaps that are important for doing things such as PLAYING DVD'S. in trying to figure that out i've gone on many a interweb rabbit trail usually ending in being asked to pay 14.95. no sir, man.

nonetheless, 'tis been a lovely holiday so far. would put up images of thanksgiving here, but the dummy fone won't be compatible. sigh. here's a pink christmas tree instead. xo!

oh, america!

2009-11-16T17:12:00.001-08:00

a while back it was a nice day, and i went for a bike ride. i rode around this elementary school and found these sweet, colorful murals of the good old u.s.a. and the world. it seems like a pretty cool school because they also had these unkempt kind of flower beds and lots of paint in canisters by the windows. anyway, we checked it out!

we also found this: the world's nastiest decomposed mouse! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN YA'LL? did his wittle tail get caught in the playground equipment? did a cat leave him there and get startled? who knows, but barf-o-rama!

post-apocalyptic surprise party

2009-11-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

i love post-apocalyptic movies. some of my favorites:

yeah, so i like the movies but this nor'easter was no joke. madd shout outs to the elliots for the comprehensive blawg coverage. <-two links there folks, don't miss em.

dummy me tried to go make cookies with john and camille and forged through way too deep water, then tried to turn onto their submerged street right into a huge, fallen tree. great move carter!

anyway, in light of this disaster, and in honor of the soy milk in my stomach that may or may not be sour from our outed power, here are some observations about what might happen in an apocalyptic world event if it mirrors this nor'easter at all:

1. the birds will act weird. i saw this confused swarm of sparrows getting worked by the wind. i also saw what i thought was an attack pigeon, but i think he just got blown into a car. poor little dude.

2. the hair braiding shops will still be open! (ladies) the exotic lingerie shops will still be open! (fellas!)

3. the lights in the nice parts of town will be on. conspiracy?

4. it's a great time to loot!

5. everyone will act like zombies (slow or fast) because the dang coffee machines won't work, and my stupid pilot light went out. omg my life is so hard.

nor'easter

2009-11-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

we are having a nor'easter!
my version of that word is: nature's blast beats.
it means no school. i love my life. thanks!

essays

2009-11-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

okay, so i just had a big pile of essays come in (a.k.a no life for a while) so here's what i did for the past couple weeks:
(bottom picture up)
1. went to a contra dance with danny. so fun. lots of laughing and confusion.
2. saw sweet art in roanoke on mini tour with josiah and rocky
3. folk the system booked the tour and were great
4. we all ate at my old fav restaurant, the little grill, in hburg
dreamY!

fitness

2009-10-15T14:30:00.000-07:00

i've always thought gym clothes were a little depressing and too stretchy (expect for the amazing outfits of joni greggins). so when i found my old r.l. stein shirt-vest, i knew it was meant for the gym. in case you can't read backwards, it says, "night of the living dummy!"

in the same vein, we played pumpkin football at young life this week. we all wore shower caps (even if we didn't have braids) and busted pumpkins and threw people down. it was basically amazing and this picture captures the glory of the event. note: the shower cap on the top of the hair and the bottom of the hair. for safety!

done!

2009-10-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

today i hated teaching the children.
luckily, tomorrow is another day.
it's like magic!

campin'

2009-10-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

went campin'. favorite things that happened:
1. we stayed bone dry in the rain!
2. we ate madd pancakes.
3. we went to pick apples, but it was too cold so we bought apple doughnuts and took funny pictures.
4. record shopping (got the new avett's, lucinda wiliam's essence, and a pure prairie league album)
5. uber long mid day nap with futuristic earplugs
6. fire coffee
7. bangin' pinapple pizza
8. s'mores take 2
9. campground karaoke->srzly. when jean and i walked up, there was an 8 year old singing "dead or alive." so metal. i sang "build me up buttercup" and this morning i was sitting by the fire and this lady with big hair walked by and said, "hey buttercup." i got the slight feeling that i had done something embarrassing i didn't remember, and then i realized it was only karaoke!

songs that go boom

2009-09-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

so they just put in this four way stop at the end of our street. i never noticed how loud it is when cars stop apparently, and it's been kind of a drag with the windows open (i.e. boomastic bass, and screeching etc). it made me think about that l'trimm song "cars that go boom" and then the le tigre cover, neither of which were youtubable. but i did find this gem. magic!

disaster zone

2009-09-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

no, i'm not bagging cocaine in the kitchen! this big, fat, bummer happened when i tried to make chocolate chip brownies on a whim. the bottom of the brownies also didn't come out right, but i gave a big runny slab to a neighbor and called it okay. also great, i got to see lucinda wiliams with dreamy friends, and i got to hold a puppy. and yes, those are crocs. and no, i don't want to talk about it.

i have arrived

2009-09-23T17:41:00.000-07:00

last night at parent teacher conference, no one asked me if i was a student.
what's up adulthood?!

lumberjack fest

2009-09-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

today i went to the stihl lumberjack fest. there was a disappointing number of "classic" lumberjacks there, but i did see a foot and a half long white beard. danny brought me a granny smith apple, and then we went to eat vietnamese sandwiches. he and ted were telling funny jokes and one of the punchlines was: who's that tiny baby man?

what i learned at school today

2009-09-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

what i learned at school today:
why i love my job

if you're going to buy a mixtape you should:
1. go out huntersville
2. find the bootleg guy
3. ask him for the gucci mane movie two
4. ask him for two for 5$

if this fails, find the guy in brayon's neighborhood that is bald until the back of his head and then has dreds. he rides a bike. sometimes he's at the flea market. maybe by the trashcans out lafayette. regardless he has them, and he's legit. his wife's a nurse.

what i taught the children:
1. the hairstyle brayon's bootleg seller has is called a mudflap where i come from.
2. punk mixtapes are very different, are given to boos or friends, have specific track listings and are sometimes painted with glitter nail polish.

the irony: i've always wanted a for real legit mixtape and some guy tried to sell me cds out of a bag at walgreens and i said no and avoided eye contact. come on carter!

b2skool is poppin'

2009-09-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

wish my first day was more like this. but it was still rad. lots of hugs.

had to go get a couple last minute things at walgreens, and some man asked me if i needed to buy any cd's out of his plastic bag. i said, "naw, i'm good." life!

no more white shoes

2009-09-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

okay, so i know no more white shoes, but what about silver, snakeskin-patterned sandals? let me know.

in other thrilling news, there was a real bangin' cookout at ma/pa carter's house complete with old people and babies (the recipe for a great shindig). we had homemade ice cream and painted kitty's cardboard house with cartoon figures. all the ladies kicked it in the garage and laughed really loud. for generations of teetotalers, this is an unusual occurrence.

i ran into a former student at k-mart buying two packs of white-ts. love it! it made me excited to go back to school because, almost across the board, my students are really nice people that are funny i their own ways. i realized i've gotten to teach over 300 kids! it's kind of a great feeling, b/c sometimes i really second guess myself, but i really feel like i've given it my best shot. anyway, here's a less nostalgically vibed article about a light pole falling down in our stadium that i got from kellette's blog. we won't take it as an omen for the year! ironing time. p.s. pray i can sleep. the rooster crows at 5 a.m.!

biketown u.s.a.

2009-09-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

we rode together to the ferry/to p-town to celebrate heidi! it was so cute! happy b-day girl! we took tourist photos. shout out's to cutters or former rattlesnake bike crew! hisssss!

oh! and p.s. they set off fireworks and we rode under trees with bats freaking out for like 2 blocks. probably about the craziest sound i've ever heard.

lies your lunch lady told you

2009-09-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

delishous lentil loaf. no, really!

well, that's one way to empty the toaster . . .

2009-09-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

when asked what she thought of this disturbing disaster which hit a norfolk home this afternoon, local high school teacher said, "note the irony of the toaster crumbs both hitting the trash can, and the empty and broken dustbuster chamber right around the corner." get a life girl!

ah! real monster plants!

2009-09-01T13:48:00.001-07:00

so, i'm back in school and have been trying to take some time to remember the fun things i got to do in my free time over the summer (as to defend myself from post-summer ennui). one rad thing was growing my own container garden for the first time. i've been eating on the cherry/romas for a while as well as starting to pick my first bell peppers. i grew from sprouts so everything should keep making for a bit. jalapenos and wax peppers have slowed down, but still look bushy and lovely (these are the only plants not grown from sprouts).

top pic: tomatos gettin' gnarly on the deck rail.
bottom: (r->left) jalapenos/wax peppers, back rail->cherries/romas, left->more tomatoes.
i'm thinking of doing an herb/sugar snap pea thing in the fall, but i've got to wait for all the containers back. i don't believe in spending too much more to plant than it takes to grow. at least for the time being.

reflective haikus plz

2009-08-31T19:40:00.000-07:00

He's got the . . .

2009-08-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

i got hit in the face with a beach ball shaped like a world at a teacher pep rally.

a lifetime of terror

2009-08-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

if there's one sea creature i fear the most, however irrationally, it's the baleen whale! images of said whale keep popping up through my life, scaring the crap out of me. i vividly remember being petrified by a picture of one in a kids animal book and then later doing an illustration of one for this book jacket project. then today, i was helping with the kids at church (i was assigned to the rowdy 6th grade boys who farted) and i realized i was standing right next to the mouth of a painting of a baleen whale. OH THE HORROR! those filters! squished out in tiny pieces! can you have an anti-totem animal?!

chipwich revenge

2009-08-22T21:05:00.000-07:00

the lil' gut made by the chipwich i just ate is about the same size as the lady runner's i'm watching on tv.

yes, i know it's not the same.

congratulations Jamaica.

my hero

2009-08-19T19:51:00.001-07:00

lotsa funny (like alternate universe) things happened today. i called to report that our trashcan had been destroyed by the waste management dudes, and either the woman was high as crap or there were other people giggling in the room, because that lady just laughed hysterically the entire 4 min. real talk: the whole 3 min. conversation, i maybe said 50 words and waited for her to get her breath back. whatever dude, whatever!

the coolest thing though, was when i was washing the soap out of my neice's hair, and i told her about when i was a scardy little kid and my mom had to sing the count's "batty bat" song to get me to put my head under the water (see below). she said, "i'm sorry you were scared, aunt sarie. i will protect you." so good man. love her. madd shout outs to my homie kitty! ride or die 4 lyfe! madd shout outs to the count too, for without his song and my mom's urgings to look for fake bats on the bathroom ciling, i might have a crusty head to this day!

camp, cameras, and chip hair

2009-08-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

i just got back from young life camp. we took about 40 kids and they had a blast which makes the fact that my whole left leg is a giant purple bruise unimportant. it did, however, lead to a silly discussion about why white people turn purple when they bruise. the girls in my room said they turn red which i feel is a serious fib!

in other news, my camera cord came from china which rules so i get to comment on recent shenanigans. first, and possibly most importantly is the incident of the chip hair.
so i went to this party.

and i found this chip that looked like my hair-do.

so we tried it on to check and see if it was true.

ta da! don't get me wrong, i love it. it's great. i just had an affinity for (lego man, prince valiant, frier emo) bangs. precise photo credit to jeff & emily gwinn.

black spot and the bubonic plague

2009-08-09T17:48:00.000-07:00

my tomatoes which i have grown from mere sprouts have contracted a case of the black spot (a.k.a. blossom end rot). apparently this comes from a lack of calcium problem or irregular watering patterns which are both possible. 4 of the 6 plants seem to have it and i was (for real talk legit sad) for half a day about this. i think i had help nurse them back to life with lime, but at least the cherry tomatoes are okay so far.

in other diseased news, i heard on the radio that there was an outbreak of bubonic plague in china. turns out it was actual pneumonic plague, which is related to the bubonic but spread through the air not by flea bits. both sound equally wretched but the black death is a way cooler name for a metal band.

weave me alone

2009-08-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

i saw so many weaves on the ground today! so many! i had to run over somebody's track to get through the drive-through pharmacy. what gives yall! also, i felt at least a half step out of step with humanity today in all social interactions ect. these two events are not correlated in any way i don't think.

nanne and ankie

2009-08-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

so yesterday i called skye to play some tunes, which we did, but wound up playing them at this show bob zentz, her pops booked/played, at waterside. apparently, they're trying to book a bunch more music there instead of just being an oasis of hooters and bar norfolk. the featured artists were nanne and ankie, who are from the netherlands, not holland, but friesland. i don't really know why this was important historically, but it seemed like a big deal, so i just didn't ask.

anyway, so they did some thing called a song cycle about henry hudson and got invited to play it at the 500th anniversay of . . . the hudson river valley, i think. my favorite parts were 1. when ankie patted me on my back and looked me in the face and smiled and said we did a good job 2. watching this crazy storm roll in over waterside 3. the set which included hand motions. it kind of made me feel equally happy and embarrassed, like a lot of good things.

old people jokes

2009-08-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

today i was at the drug store getting some pillz for my allergies and the old lady in front of me had this great shirt with seagulls on it. i told her that i liked it, and she said everyone does. while i was trying to talk myself out of thinking that was an ungracious response, she turned around and said, "one time this lady said, 'what kind of birds are those.' and i said, 'seagulls.' and she said, 'how do you know their not he-gulls.'" i laughed.

collections and collecting

2009-08-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

i've been thinking a lot about collections and collecting. i got to go to my friend/roomie sarah's lake house in lake gaston. it was great. she has a great, very streamlined decorating style, and her mother has a great, crazy collecting style (kind of like the above pic only cozier and more antique).

i've always had a desire to amass great amounts of rediculous things i liked for whatever reason, but have been thwarted by 7 moves in the past 5/6 years. when i worked at the hope house thrift shop, i got some amazing finds (1970's le cruset cookware set, bangin dresses, majestic paintings, and countless others). look at these great collections of things i would like to collect, but have neither the time nor space to do so currently!

lakehouse take 2

2009-07-31T19:11:00.001-07:00

my parents and i are at the lake. sometimes we want to kill each other but mostly we're having fun. i've been reading lotsa willa cather about dreamy, windy prairies while sweating bullets down by the lake. i think it is a mistake to live in the world unhappily always dreaming of other places, but not if you remember to enjoy where you are.

hamburgler!

2009-07-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

BOGO TOOTHPASTE!!!!!!!

2009-07-22T20:33:00.000-07:00

BOGO TOOTHPASTE SUCKAHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no apologies

2009-07-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

i know i'm being a bad blogger. i'm only a little bit sorry about it. my new camera is nicer than my old one which is awesome, but it's taking me time to figure it out. also, i need to figure out what cord i need and buy one. come on carter, get on the ball. these are things i will eventually have pictures of and blogs i wrote in my head but didn't post.

future pictures:
1. my plants are huge! peppers gallore! baby tomato rain storm!
2. me kicking it with kitty!
3. john and i on a cruise to pungo. don't ask!
4. me dressed up for a pic-nic
5. me using free wi-fi in panera thinking about how i'm glad i don't do this a lot.

future blawgs:
1. time's up: I'M GOING TO QUIT BEING LATE!
2. sundial: can i reach my goal of telling time by the sun without losing my eye sight?
3. shredder: why do i suck so bad at skateboarding?
4. jungle fever: why was there a fake gorilla on the side of the road when i was street walking little creek road getting my oil changed.

aren't you just quivering with excitement?
by the by, how about some pictures of my hero zsa zsa gabor. forever glamour!

shades of irony

2009-07-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

i'm generally annoyed by conversations about ironic mustaches and ironic dreamcatchers etc.

but yesterday, i had a scenario that doesn't fit the 11th grade english literary definition of irony so i propose it to the group for discussion:

yesterday when i put on my king of the hill shirt (complete with homemade cut-off sleeves and neckline) i realized it had a very real catsup stain on hank hill's shirt. luckily, it washed off, but not before i caught a disappointed look from my own face to my own self in the mirror. ironic or not?

why i don't wear white

2009-07-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

on a whim, i recently bought a light peach v -neck, summer sweater. what?! i said it was a whim. i bought it because i thought i was going to spain this summer. i had visions of tapas by the water and me throwing my head back and laughing and laughing with jenna and bryan in the friscalating dusk light, speaking spanish rapidly.

instead, today i was eating black bean soup with my parents at panera (which was fun but no european daydream). because we were seated in the very back behind a partition, i made a napkin bib. i'm just that classy. i was telling my mom about how these dreamy surfers helped the young life capurnum kids, as well as yl urban (our kids) learn to surf and how it was great, when all of a sudden i needed more soda pop. marching out confidently, i noticed a punk rock couple and smiled until i realized i looked like a big fat baby making messes. a quick u-turn undetected by all save one smirking dude, and i went out an got my soda.

which brings me to my retirement earning ingenious invention idea: a cracker ashtray for parties. think about it.

catsup

2009-07-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

okay so i've been out of town for a really long time and here's what happened!
-got really tan house sitting from working very hard. swam a lot.
-went to cornerstone and met lots of rad doods and ladies
-played bluegrass with nashville kids and crusties with face tats
-got given beans for playing bluegrass with the above
-kissed lots of babies and saw friends from far away (stubblefield shout outs)
-saw the midwest
-took 1 picture because i forgot
-played a lot of tunes
-saw some great bands
-now i'm trying to get things back together.
i always get in a weird funk after vacation (because i am immature) so beware of lots of thankfulness posts in the next few days. also, i have some pictures to add but can't figure out how to make that happen with my newly received digi cam. peas!

pass the tanning butter

2009-06-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

i am tanner than i have been since the summer we moved from sherwood to my mom's new neighborhood and i played outside everyday with melissa gossett because she had a zip line and a dock with stinky crabs. house that for a misplaced modifier!

also, i saw a cat with a diaper and i'm going to see dave bazan and a baby named abe and my friends from chico. long live summer vacation!

reality check

2009-06-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

please match the reality show with the description below:

if you liked all the complaining in that last lil post, then you'll love this:
plz ask me in person about the great epic account of the black plague of rat which ended this morning. full details omitted with respect for my vegan homies. don't call me a speciesist.

if you did not like all the complaining from the last post, check this:
my very dear roomie recently received a new camera for graduation and gave me her old one, which is possibly nicer than my other one? either way, such a blessing!

i'm housesitting this week and found out that the following reality shows exist:
1. southern belles: a reality series about real life lousiville cougar lookin' ladies livin' la vida loca.
2. jersey girls: some show with the same premise as above but with new jersey ladies.
3. some show about thug ladies trying to turn their lives around hosted by rikki lake with a crazy michael jackson lookin' face! highlights include: nicknames like bay bay bay.

skool's out!

2009-06-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

skool's out for the summer. this is such a very good thing. i had a great sense of relief as i walked out the doors having turned everything in: keys etc! this feeling has been cosmically messed with by 2 things:

1. i'm really annoyed that a good portion of my students cheated on the final. i suspected one student, but hashed it out with him and erred on his side. it was obvious when i saw the test scores though, that dude passed it along. he didn't wind up graduating though, and i'm kind of glad. i know people have cheated in life, but come on man.

2. i am 95% confident that my digital camera was stolen from my desk. i know that it makes me sound like a pretty shallow person to be upset about this, but it's just rediculous. i must have forgotten it over the weekend, which would either put it on a student who came in when i was out of the room, or maintence personell. either way, it's just kind of like, "come on dude. stealing from a teacher? you know we don't get paid nothing, and we're on the same team here." apparently we're not.

aside from the painful irony of the camera getting zoinked the last week before school was out, and the fact that it was a loving gift from ma and pa carter for baby s' college graduation, i guess it will be fun to get a new camera after i scrimp in some areas to cough up the dough. i am extremely optimistic about the summer, and already cleaned up a bunch of my teacher stuff to double check that my camera wasn't just lost in a messy room.

favorite quote from a survey i gave my kids:

One peice of advice I would like to share with Ms. Carter is:
"cuss these bad students out." yeah dude, yeah!

that's where my hands live

2009-06-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

"i love my arms, that's where my hands live." brak

today was a rough day for my hands.

i shut my left thumb in the car door. it turned purple, then red with black spots. i think it will be fine, but i was talking with pops because he's hit his thumb a manly number of times, and he said sometimes you have to go to the hospital so they can punch a hole in the nail to let the pressure out. my gramps would drill it himself. my family is tough. if i have to do something about it, i'm going to the hospital.

i just got the cutest new lil' cactus jammers. in my rush of love for the shiny little turds, i forgot that the furry doods hurt just as bad as the spiny brahs because they spines get in your skin. then, there's silly me trying to tweeze the spines while trying not to place pressure on the bumb thumb. for heaven's sake, sarah!

anyway, i always thought it would be depressing to get to the end of ones life and have perfectly soft, unscarred hands. anyway, a brief tribute to hands!

anyway, a tribute to hands!

the children are learning!

2009-06-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

bought a nylon today from the walgreens. while reading it i became alarmed that i hadn't heard of any of the bands in it. before i fell down a "i'mtoooldanddon'tknowwhat'scoolanymore" hole, i had a listen and realized i didn't like most of them anyway. somehow this made me feel better. did like beth jeans houghton's golden, and blue roses. b.r. reminds me of twin peaks!

alas, i was listening while grading my last set of essays for the year. my girlfriend at work was saying i should be able to tell how much they learned this year based on these, and she was so right (as usual). there's some solid stuff here. two of my favorite paragraphs:

"My music is not only pleasant to the ears it is also inspirational. My songs inspire people to love themselves for who they are. I also create songs about the importance of perseverance. In addition to those powerful messages, my music displays my struggles in life. Therefore, benefitting the listener if they've gone through the same struggles by making them feel as if they are not alone. I love to make a difference in other people through my songs because not only does it benefit them, it benefits me to."

"In a lifetime, we humans are less willing to make the change to be the best person we can be. We often feel that the world should accept us they way that we are. The changes that we do make could be the spark of us beng successful in life. Take me: a person who was headed down the wrong path, but now a more mature person with a bright future ahead."

go y'all! It also helps to know that for this second student, the wrong path was the bloods. changes things a bit. it's weird because i try not to talk about my students all the time like when i first started teaching, but i for real spend 7 hours a day with them and who can you tell about all their little triumphs and failures? it's a strange thing, teaching.

alas, i digress! let's get on with this last full week!

i'm in a tent!

2009-06-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

after much consultation of consumer reports, i found some rad tents that fit my camping needs! so john and i ran out to bass pro shops which turned out to be a wonder of archery, knives, fishes, and surprisingly taxidermy. they even had a shooting range in that jank.

after a dinner break to sort out things in my head, and a call to mom to check the internet i bought a columbia sharp trail four man jammer. it's so dreamy. thankfully, i had some camping experienced friends to help me do a practice run. turned out to be gigantic! more room to get your camp on, son!

today someone said:

2009-06-04T13:28:00.001-07:00

right after the bell rang, this boy goes:
"omg, i have time for one pokemon battle."
yes my friends, yes.

which brings me back to a great conversation brought up by my buddy j.williamson:
if you could be in dragonball z or pokemon, which would it be.
a.k.a. if you could have crazy magical fighting powers vs. having pets with crazy magical fighting power, which would you choose?
search your souls, y'all.

conundrum or oxymoron?

2009-06-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

you tell me.

a series of unsetlling events

2009-06-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

these things just happened:
1. i have seen multiple dead animals up close recently (on bikes, walking, running) and not realized it until i was right up on them. this is always unsettling and their squished mouths are always open towards me. i don't know what this means exactly.

2. today in class my student's good time went like this, "my boyfriend got out of the hospital." and we were like, "why what happened, is he okay?" because some of the kids knew him. and she said, "no, he got stabbed multiple times. we were in bed asleep and some guy came in and
started stabbing him in the head, and back. my bf shot at him with the shotgun and missed."
other details include the fact that the stabbing boy's mom drove him to the shooting boy's (a.k.a. my student's bf) house, the stabbing boy threw a swing at my student, and she got hand-
cuffed because she said she was going to kill the stabbing boy.

3. i've been trying to cook chocolate chip brownies for an hour. highlights include me spilling sugar all over the floor my roomate had just cleaned and the stove, someone using the last of the brown sugar on the sneak, me forgetting to put in the eggs and finding an emergency back up plan on the internet, and eating the remnants of the saved recipe til i feel a little sick.

i feel like i'm having some liz lemon moments. or a just having a liz lemon having a cathy moment.

cool trick

2009-05-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

so this morning i pulled this cool trick where i slept in 2 hours passed what i was supposed to. miraculously, i was only 4 minutes late. i felt like i looked a mess though, but the kids were kind. kind of made me think, "look at how much less i could be getting away with." anyway, at least my plants are in tip top shape. major overhaul on putting all the little dudes out. no more back up sprouts to rely on in this crazy monsoon season we've been having. from top to bottom: 1. the mean size of cherry tomato sprouts. 2. team jalapeno (bought these, poseur i know) 3. arial view of peppers and romas.

almost summer

2009-05-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

i love almost summer possibly more than real summer.

prom!

2009-05-24T23:21:00.000-07:00

last night i went to norview's prom.
they had a 2009 ice sculpture and a lady dj.
there were shrimp in an ice plate on the sculpture.
they also had free slurpees and a chocolate fountain.
i just wore this old strapless black number with a cheetah belt, and
sweatered it because i'm a teacher.
it was dressy enough, with a thirties flair.
one kid said, "you look like anne frank."
trying all i could not to laugh in his face, i figured it was time to go.
apparently i needed to look at some fashion blawgs.
p.s. the ice sculpture looked nothing like this.

snack attack!

2009-05-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

uh yes, yes, ya'll. . . to the beat y'all . . .

why me pass that ketsup?!

2009-05-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

can't stop laughing at this (thanks jean).

also, i can't stop constructing and rerunning scenarios in which i have a normal conversation with soulja boy and he says his crazy unpronounced soulja boy stuff. just imagine, for instance, him asking for the ketsup, "pass the ketsup" (to the tune of put my swag on). then, "what? you don't do it like me? why me pass that ketsup." maybe like this but a lot more lazy mouthed. baby boi doesn't use articles ya'll.

why i feel so weird inside

2009-05-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

two conversations i had in the same day:
setting: at school
exposition: my kids were taking s.o.l.'s today so i was working towards working on a pile of essays i have to grade (translation: entering late grades, answering emails etc), but kids kept dropping by.

conversation 1:
i have had 2 students that have been dating for 2 years. the boy walks in and explains that he just got suspended from votec. for skipping saturday school. we small talk about ring dance (which just happened) and he says he and his gf just broke up. then he says, "i'm going to be a fazzzer." which i guess means a father. i was shocked and confused, then i find out the mom isn't his ex-gf. i said, "what does the mom think about all this?" and he says, "she's a grown woman." and i say, "does she live by herself?" and he says, "yes, but i'm only 16." then he proceeds to tell me his co-worker died, and his dad would put him out of the house if he knew and he keeps telling her she better hurry up and get an abortion before the baby gets to big. running into him later in the hall, i find out because he was wandering the hall so much, he's about to get suspended from regular school too. too much craziness to process.

conversation 2:
after proctoring and s.o.l., i told this girl she had a nice name. she opened up to me and said, "aw, i wanna tell you this story then. my aunt thought of it while she was taking a dump." me, stunned and stammering for a sec. "huh," i mustered.

same day. what the heck. how is the brain supposed to swivel around to deal with all these dick missions?

garden update!

2009-05-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

my little jammers are going hard!

i did cheat a little and bought these pre-grown
pepper plants: jalapeno & banana peppers.

then i moved some tomato plants into big planters
to see how they fair outside. go lil doods go!

also, i tried the salsa again with better results
though it burned my face off a little.
and i'm trying to learn to drink selzter water
so i don't get a tumor.
and i got to eat one of these at my mom's today:

wolverine dreamz

2009-05-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

i went to see that wolverine movie with friends! it was pretty rad because i have not ever read the comics and only faithfully watched the x-men cartoon on tv from the 90's. i also bought part 2 of "night of the sentinels" from a man at a flea market and then found part 1 later. magic! i think maybe one day i will really like comics but i haven't taken a shine to reading them yet. parts of the movie made me feel like this super posi video. but way more intense with more adamantium. actually, i'm not sure the two have much in common except for love for human beings. xo!

i saved a prehistoric turtle

2009-04-27T17:34:00.001-07:00

if you know anything about science, please disregard the following post.
I SAVED A PREHISTORIC TURTLE.
IT LOOKED LIKE THIS:

all attempts to identify it have led me to think it's a "common snapping turtle." mine looked a lot more dry and from the past though. it's tail was also shorter. lord, i hope if they ever classify humans they don't put common before my name. years of sarah plain and tall jokes are quite enough.

i was jogging and it made me stop and make gross out noises because at first i thought it was a pile of bones from a headless bird. that was so shocking. then i realized it was a dinosaur looking thing, made more gross out noises and kept running.

on the way back, lil' man was trying to make it under the fence. i said, "aw man!" and saw a rogue funny papers flying around like a dang big city tumbleweed. so i made a turtle mitt and caught that jank back by it's haunches and boy did he swirm, i tell ya what!

i did think for a moment, "what will happen to me if he scratches me?" hopefully x-men- like characteristics and sexiness. then i realized i hadn't planned for the grand embarkation back into the swamp. set him down on an incline and he slip-n-slid out of there. farewell my friend!

quest to process

2009-04-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

in charlotte last weekend, my friend jarin made this bangin' salsa and she told me the recipe.
so when i got home, i asked mom if i could borrow her food processor (an ancient plastic thing used once each year for probably as long as i have been alive).
unsurprisingly, it was broken.
so today i bought a new one at target, after traffic kept me from my physical therapy appointment (back troubles) full of hope of fresh salsa in my mouth.
but!
jank didn't work.
so, as not to give up hope on my suddenly free afternoon and the hope of salsa, i tried to make it bit by bit in my roomates smoothie blender.
unsurprisingly, jank didn't work.
although, i did produce some of the soggiest, most cilantro-y salsa substitute the world should ever know.
then i tried one more time, before re-boxing the bogus processor, and realized i hadn't clicked it right.
oh today, how you teach me confusing lessons!
low point:
1. remembering how last time i cut a habanero pepper, the pepper residue on my hands got into my eyes when i washed my face which resulted in me screaming a little bit and hopping in the shower.
high point:
realizing how blessed i was not to be in the accident which caused the traffic which kept me from my appointment.

b2s (back to school)

2009-04-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

exciting stuff happens on vacation. it tricks you into thinking vacation should

be a lifestyle and not a treat. j/k livin yallz!

but we have to go back to work! wah! only 7 more weeks!

we are filled to be emtpied again.

charlotte!

2009-04-16T12:59:00.001-07:00

i got to come to charlotte and see my friends!

it rules.

i slept til noon (see previous post).

then ate lunch and rode bikes and laughed a lot.

i alwyz thought rode bikes/fixi.s would hurt my ass too much, but

soon realized i've just never ridden a bike that's tall enough for me.

my friend john is 6.3 and with a little seat adjustment it was a dream.

thinking about getting on in the future, if it's dirt cheap.

spring break rules!

o.o.c. (out of control)

2009-04-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

dudes.
i can't make myself go to bed at a reasonable hour!
for the first half of the school year i went to be from 9.30 p.m. to 5.30 a.m.
recently i've been going to bed from 10 p.m. to 5.05 a.m.
since break i haven't gone to sleep before midnight (went to sleep at 3 last night for no real reason)
and haven't gotten up before 10 except for church.
i love it.
i can't stop eating sweet treats either.
here are some pictures of things i've eaten:

thank GOD that salmonella thing is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

andy milonakis injury

2009-04-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

i may have injured myself doing sit-ups while watching the andy milonakis show. i never know if/when i'm going to laugh at that mess. thought it was off the air.

garden

2009-04-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

k, so let's pretend i posted this a long time ago. when the sprouts were not 3 inches high, and looking fabulous, and the kinetic energy was making the air just buzz with possibilities. shout outs for spring and for container gardens because the downstairs neighbors emptied their charcoal (which contains arsenic) into the herb garden. and please pour one out for kingsley the best garden gnome i ever had. are eye pea!

what it is

2009-03-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

i read lynda barry's most recent book, what it is. it's about writing/drawing and why we stop at a certain age(see above page) as well as a variety of other wonderful topics. the book is collage and illustrations, and one page part really stuck out to me although i was unable to find it previously scanned in.

one reason she said people don't write/draw is that they don't have the time. she said, yes you do. you use the time to do many other things. even though that is a simple concept, it's extrodinarily true. and a sharply true phase telling people to get themselves together.

so anyway, i have been taking it to heart and not spending as much time on the ol' interweb, but playing songs and doing other things.

p.s. they probably have it at your local library!

kittens inspired by kittens

2009-02-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

thanks to jean for watching the soup and youtube!

completely shallow thought

2009-02-18T17:50:00.001-08:00

this is a completely shallow thought. today at the gym i saw this man that was by all accounts pretty cute. he even had fairly decent tattoos. BUT! he had a goatee. there are very rare cases in which i feel goatees are socially acceptable; very rare cases which pretty much start and end with one, charles abadam.

the history of hip-hop

2009-02-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

i have been obsessed with d/ling the rub's history of hip-hop series since i found out it was possible on wednesday. big shout outs to nathan and what not!

i don't have time to look up the history of the creator's or explain how this miracle happened, it just is, like many good things.

go here, and right click on the red links then save to yer itunes. some programs are like 2 hours long.

forgive the explicit directions, but i needed help figuring it out. i am who i am.
apologies to you dopebois and girls who already knew this.

marx

2009-02-12T16:56:00.000-08:00

the marx bros are the schizz.
i used to think that i was most like groucho, often grumpy with lots of corny jokes.
but now i really wish to be more like harpo. full of shennanigans, happy, and not too chatty.
i'm sure theres a quiz about this on a geocities website.

my fav musical number!

block party

2009-02-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

i have been blocking off time for autoharping because i get to play with this fancy lady theresea andersson at the attucks. this place has a real stage, and since over practicing is an element of me feeling confident, i gotta do it.

but it's weird because by the time i get there (to practice), i don't know what to do. i just kind of mess around.

dinner musak (oh, p.s. muzak is having debt troubles):

i habba stuppy nose

2009-02-04T07:33:00.000-08:00

second day home sick. i took yesterday because i was feeling bad (sinusy face and super sore throat)in an attempt to head off illness, but no dice. i was going to push through and go to school today because we have young life today after school, but my roomates were like, "that's stupid. you're sick."

they're right and i need to go to the doctor. why do i feel guilty for not going to work when i'm sick? because other people do. why do other people go to work while sick? because we make no space for people to rest. lots of thoughts and feelings about this.

anyway, best sick day films of all times (not in order):
breaking away: townies beat frat dogs in bike race and at life.
mad max beyond thunder dome: post-apocalyptic thriller feat. tina turner and a fight scene with a chainsaw, and a mace.
bottle rocket: wes anderson classic featuring jump suits.
ferris beular's day off: but only if it comes on t.v.
the royal tennenbaums: wes anderson jam that doesn't get too loud.

in honor of so much sitting, two of the best fight scenes ever. andy showed me this first one that was from a movie called gymkata which starred an athlete that didn't make the olympics kicking people in the face from a pummel horse. the second one is from mad max.

mummy zombie

2009-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

i had a dream that i was being chased by a mummy, who was being chased by zombies.
dunno if they had a deal or something? (mummy gets my clothes, zombies get my brains?)
dunno what this means. any thoughts?

power pieces

2009-01-26T17:18:00.000-08:00

tis a very dreary time of year. there aren't many breaks for us teacher types until spring gets rolling, and there's a bunch of administrative bull roar coming down the pipe at us (yawn). what's a girl to do? i know, put on a dang head dress! power peices such as this one help make the year go by. madd shout outs to dj danny and to john for convincing him i would give it a good home.

*note: the sweatshirt featured in picture one is a part of the best outfit of all times recently featured.

**double note: none of this head dress wearing is meant in any way to be offensive to native americans who i dearly love.

attendance committee

2009-01-21T14:10:00.000-08:00

today i was on the attendance appeal committee. if kids miss more than 8 days they can appeal to still pass the class. the first person was very fancy and said basically that his kid had no excuse and please have mercy and the kid went to therapy once or some. one family said their kid kept throwing up, but that he needed glasses. when asked when they found this out, they said, "in the summer." one girl had just had a baby, and was already asking for her makeup work.

i didn't know what to say to any of it so i just watched and nodded. it was kind of the way i felt when i first heard boomhauer talk.

a mini mall

2009-01-16T14:46:00.000-08:00

cornbread

2009-01-14T16:01:00.000-08:00

(click on the cornbread for a rad article about it)
two thoughts:
1. today at young life after school, we had chili and cornbread. this kid said, "ms. carter. i'm going to ask you to make cornbread at my wedding."

2. also, my mom told me about this dream she had where she had a baby and it was wrapped up like a subway sandwich. and then she lost it. she said, "i found the tuna melt, and the turkey sandwich, and i just kept opening and opening. but i lost my baby." i asked if she laughed when she woke up, but she said, "no, i felt like crying. i lost my baby."

the best outfit of all times

2009-01-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

admist the unfurled landscape of my favorite quilt, these articles of clothing look like merely that. but when you examine them for their individual worth, it is clear that they are much more.
fact.
the cobalt blue and grey, vintage addidas pants are the warmest pants i have ever owned.
fact.
those orange looking things are acutally mustard-colored socks of wonder!
fact.
that hoodie is made by american apparal, a fact which i'm not particularly proud or not proud off. it may or may not have been made in a sweat shop.
and one additional article which energizes the ensemble faster than a power ranger.

ah, too bad they're all made out of "sweat" material or you might get to see them all together (in public!). also good all together, COLLARDS AND GUMBO! who-da thunk it?

b2s

2009-01-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

bracing for a rough transition, i was presently surprised to be okay with going back to school.

one of my students said, "my boyfriend got so drunk he and his brother started fighting. they broke everything in their mom's house. but she was mean, and she pulled a knife. i didn't even get to see the ball drop. isn't that a shame?"

back to life, back to reality . . .

moms house

2009-01-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

1. great great gma (lost her eye in a super early cateract surgery attempt)
2. great grandparents (where i get my height?)
3. gramps and g.uncle jammin' in a field (i know, right?)
4. my only photograph expression

fav

2008-12-31T22:33:00.000-08:00

two fav. pictures of these holidaze:
1. a naturally occuring display of a few of my favorite things i had to take a picture of i got so stoked on seeing them all together. note: if you have ever watched my copy of x-men: night of the sentinels part 1 (that i got from a flea market and is not complete), i finally found the whole show.
2. courtesy of john's excellent christmas tracking skillz.

happy new year!