Drained

I don't think I have the ability to be clever during this post. Being around young minds all day has the tendency to completely drain me- mind, body and spirit. It's odd to me that I'm a teacher. I don't feel all that far removed from high school myself, yet these students and their actions remind me that I am getting old.

The few cool points I earned with my freshman class came with their discovery of my Napoleon calendar. I bribe my middle school class with candy and fair tickets to gain not only their attention, but their affection. It's weird. I don't necessarily want to be the "cool teacher," but I do want the students to like me. At the same time, it is disruptive to let them use the restroom during class or do other things to make them happy. When I was in high school, I got pissed at teachers who wouldn't let you go to the restroom during class. Now I understand why. That makes me sad, because it makes me feel old.

I told the middle school class that I would play their music in class if they brought music that was appropriate. A kid brought in a Snoop Dog cd. I give him points for being old school. However, as you might imagine, the song was all about getting high and drinking. I refused to play it in class. Does that make me a prude? They said another teacher had allowed them to play it in class. I guess she's cooler than me.

Anyway, that's about all I can think of right now. I would like to post a funny story but I'm just too worn out. I feel kind of like Deb Down. I'm looking forward to a weekend in Fayetteville with the Davies! Wish the bride and groom of 2007 could be there.

If you haven't seen this yet, you're welcome

So, this is the newest video from the band OK GO and it's so great that I had to make sure you both were able to see it. Thanks to YouTube for making it happen. And enjoy...

Adventures in Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor welcomed a new visitor this past weekend! After surviving the "ghetto terminal" and Detroit, Kari made it into Double A safely. The first night, we went to dinner at a nice brewpub downtown and then headed home to crash...at 10pm - we're party animals!! The next morning, we headed out to Cost Plus World Market and then the mall. We were pretty successful, as you can tell from the picture above. We shopped in honor of Brittnee, who must have been channeling some great deals our way because we found a few good bargains! Next time, when Brittnee comes to AA, we might have to retire our credit cards. That night we cooked a lovely dinner at our apartment - complete with rice pilaf! It was pretty delicious.

The next day, the destination was downtown and Kerrytown and we also had some luck shopping there. We found some cute housewares and also hit up Moosejaw for some sweet tees! That night, we put on our "fancy clothes" and had some dessert and cocktails at La Dolce Vita.

Afterwards, we tried out a jazz club (Goodnight Gracie's), but it was kind of smokey and loud, so instead we went to another favorite spot - Leopold Brother's. We drank gin n' juice (like Snoop Dogg) and played Sorry! (we each won a game) and then finished up with some darts. I was terrible, but Kari and Eric were pretty good and things got a little competitive near the end!
Sunday was pretty laid back. We went to lunch at Zingerman's deli and afterwards headed home to lounge all day long! It was pretty relaxing...there might have been some naps, but who can remember? We ordered Cottage Inn pizza and Kari procrastinated packing for about 4 hours. Then, we packed it in so that we could get up for her early flight the next morning. It was a really fun visit! We definitely missed our third musketeer, though. Next time, you're comin', B!