too bright? well, they aren't allowing too many options on templates to use so i guess this is it for now. by the way, anyone know how to change the "Edit Me" links?

i went to las vegas for the first time last weekend with my small group from church. it was a fantastic trip overall - we stayed in a hotel away from the strip which was SO much nicer than staying in the midst of the hustle and bustle of all the chaos, i got to know everyone on the trip a lot better, and a magic genie granted me all of my wishes.

my first wish was to play in the pool. the hotel's pool was on the level of a resort - very nice and posh, but we disregarded the ambience of the entire place and proceeded forth with our attempts at synchronized swimming, our underwater handstands, and of course the never-ending amusement of splashing one another. i lost my voice from all the laughing we did. and even though i can't swim well, i LOVE the water - i stayed in it non-stop for 4 hours and would have stayed longer if i hadn't felt so full from drinking as much of the pool as i did. icky! =)

my second wish was to go dancing. we did but this was the only semi-disappointing part of the night. whether it was the club or my expectations, i'm not sure. as much as i LOVE dancing, i have never been to a club other than swing clubs. therefore, i don't really know the "feel" of them - this one seemed so restrictive (they wouldn't let anyone sit down, the reasoning being that they wanted the club to look full) and the music wasn't very fun. but maybe that's how they all are? i'm so used to the crazy energy of college dances where no one really cares about looking cool - you're just there with friends to let loose.

my last wish was to see the Bellagio water show. and boy, i was SO lucky. although i saw several that night, the best one was the one i we caught from the car as we were stuck in traffic right in front of the hotel. it was a song sung by Sarah Brightman "A time to say Goodbye" (*I think!*). it's a very beautiful song that really reminds me of why music was created - to make us aware of higher places. even when music isn't about God, it can really lift the heart and make it yearn for it's creator. Her voice and the melody make my soul want to dance, and it was simply amazing how well it was captured in the way the water moved, twirling and spouting and stretching. it expressed exactly what i was feeling and left me breathless at its beauty.

what's going on? 2 entries in one day? well, school has started and I guess i should at least mention that this year is starting out better than last. i STILL think i started out too nice! why can't i adopt the philosophy of other teachers, "Don't smile until November..." Every book on classroom management says that you'll hate life later if you start out too nice. doh!

oh well, i can't undo the past but at least i got some pretty nice kids this year. i love having honors kids because i can understand most of them better. that makes me feel like such a snob. i guess that's why i try even harder in my other classes to connect with students, especially by leaving my door open during lunch and nutrition so that they can come talk to me (or at the very least, talk to my iguana). unfortunately, my worst behaved and low-motivated kids definitely will never come unless they have detention so it's hardest to reach them. i'm still honing my personal philosophy of education and teaching and so i'm all up in the air about what i think about all this...who i should try to serve the most. i guess i'll talk about that later sometime. it's getting too late for this tired teacher. g'nite!

If you've had more than a handful of conversations with me, most likely you'll have heard me begin a comment with, "I heard this on NPR and..." Everyone makes fun of me that I listen to NPR so much - apparently, it's nerdy or something. but hey! Yes, there is a lot of news on the station (my only source of news b/c i don't watch tv at all and i'm definitely not a big web browser), but there are also all these other interesting programs. There is "The Praire Home Companion" which is SO funny - it copies the old-style radio-shows and has these little skits with just voices and noises. Most of the time, I'm cracking up in the car by myself but then i pause to think wonder why Liberal, White humor appeals to me? (okay, too much self-reflection and metacognition from my Multicultural credentialling class...)

Another show is Car Talk. They're these 2 mechanics that actually graduated from MIT. They're brothers and have such chemistry over the airwaves. Most of the time, i'm laughing only because they're laughs are so contagious, but I get very sound, helpful car information too.

And of course, there are a bunch of interview programs. Yesterday, Conan O'Brien was being interviewed. Very interesting guy...he mentioned that he aims for the conversations on his show to take on a "heightened sense of reality." He said that the talks he has with stars shouldn't be the same as one you'd have with someone on a subway. They should be better. It's that aspect about tv that makes the normal people feel so mundane. By "normal people," i guess i'm talking about myself even though i don't usually include myself in that category. But I've lived years and years in the past feeling like i wasn't very interesting. My conversations didn't mirror the quick-witted talk of tv (especially like in Gilmore Girls), and so I assumed breaks in the flow were REALLY wrong. The concept of "awkward silences" was a big taboo for me - I had to stay away from them if i wanted to keep my self-esteem/image in tact.

So i went to 2 extremes - i either talked NON-stop when i was having a conversation. Or I feared uncomfortable quiet moments so much that I stayed away from people I didn't know that well or even people I did know well if i didn't have something to talk about. either way, it totally stunted my growth as a listener because I was always trying to think of what to say next instead of valuing the other person's words. again, it's taken me years to even realize this and even more so to try to enhance my listening skills.

so if nothing else, NPR is helping me to be a more conscious listener b/c i can't talk back. see?? it's not just for nerdy-ness sake! =)