SPRING BREAK or "The Teacher Strikes Back"

Spring break was very much needed for me, my students and my coworkers.  March is often a very long month as we all emerge from winter, and the week off in April provides that renewal and refreshment that sustains you until June.

During my spring break I had the opportunity to have some real fun adventures!  It started with a BANG as I hosted yet another fantastic (and I think arguably the largest) Taco Thursday.  The next day, I left for Maine early after I got off work and rocked a nap until the rest of the gang showed up at our lake house.  The rest of my weekend in Maine consisted of wine, donuts, and my snuggly neice and nephew.  So dang cute.  

Come Monday, I found myself back in Boston for the Marathon.  My friend invited us over, because she lives with her fiance on the marathon route.  We gathered then, then eventually made it to a pub in Cleveland Circle where I ran into a trainer at my gym, whose group was leaving their tables, sooooo we got a sweet spot right at the open air windows!  

SCORE!  I also promise this guy to plug his koozy product.  He makes koozies with handles and koozie backpacks.  I agreed, after wishing him luck on Shark Tank, with my friend's idea that he should focus on the backpack, but hey, dude's gotta follow his dream.  

Next, fast forward to Tuesday!  I got my nails did, my hair dyed (I LOVE IT) and then went to go see WEIRD SCIENCE at the local community theater in Cambridge.  Let's just say it was so good that my bucket list may have gained another item:  use ancient technology to bring to life my own Lisa.  

Nah, just kidding!  I did get many Halloween costume ideas.  I'll store them in the costume vault.

Wednesday was EVEN better!  I hosted my very own paint night!  I setup paints, canvases, brushes and about half a case of wine for about five or six of my close friends.  I led them through all the steps to painting a cute little Boston skyline. 

 This was all after an afternoon watching after my two-year-old niece and infant nephew.  I don't know how I survived, but I did.  Oh - yeah, they lived, too.

I don't remember what I did Thursday.  Does anyone remember what I did Thursday?  I think I cleaned up after the paint night, and then in the afternoon I visited a couple teacher friends and took it kinda easy.  My high school friend then came over for a drink to my place, and caught up on gossip.  It was a nice relaxing day. 

BOOM, Friday!  I had a whirlwind luncheon with a fellow teacher friend on break, during which we visited an amazing patio for a delicious lunch.  On a lark, we decided to go to Yi Soon bakery in Allston.  I absolutely recommend that bakery to everyone.  Additionally, we got out chocolate fix at Kiki's Kwik mart, which carries a range of delicious irish candies.

But wait, it gets better!  That evening I had a great evening at the Comedy Studio in Harvard Square.  All the comedians delivered a great show - even with having to deal with a heckler during the second act.  Once the show concluded, I wound up hanging with all the comedians at this little dive bar they all gather at to unwind.  I felt like Wayne and Garth at the Alice Cooper show.  Very cool; backstage passes.

Saturday was a much needed recovery day.  I was quickly running out of gas on my fun-o-matic machine.  I perservered, and with a chill night hanging with my brother and sister-in-law, I felt reinvigorated for the next, and arguably BEST part of my vacation:

GAME OF THRONES PREMIER NIGHT.

I'll likely need a whole second blog post to debrief on GoT, but I will leave you with at least this much:  The episode was so good, it send me back to 1995.

Lawyer's Settle. It's their Job.

Stolen Pop Rocks Cotton Candy
(holy cow, it was dark in there)

A little while ago, I was having a drink after work on a Frigsday (I'll explain frigs day in another post) with some teacher buddies.  This one co-worker of my friend cracks me up, because he keeps going on and on about weddings and who 'settles' in the marriage.  Apparently, his sister in law is a Lawyer, because she settled and that is what they do.

I guess it was funnier in person.

Hmm, let me try to save this post but admitting we grabbed pop rocks cotton candy from the table next to us, who left it after paying their bill.  It was pretty dope.  The waitress laughed at us and said it was going to be thrown away anyways.  It tasted like stolen unicorn sneezes.

And then I found a dollar.  Just kidding, that wasn't until Saturday when I put on a pair of pants I hadn't worn in a few weeks.  (I'm trying to salvage the story - always end with 'And then I found a dollar!')

Two Weeks of Chaos, Wil and R2-D2

Recently, Wil Wheaton wrote about a talk he gave at Miami University about bullying.  I felt particularly inspired after reading what he wrote in the following:

"OK, one last fundamental truth of life: you attract to yourself what you put into the world. When you are kind and gentle, you’ll find yourself surrounded by kind and gentle people, and you’ll all be like a tribe of awesome."

This quote made me reflect on the past two weeks at work, which have been very challenging.  My entire career, actually, has been challenging.  I have taught close to ten different classes, spanning every level from AP to special needs.  I've been called on the Sunday night before the first day of school to be asked to teach an all-senior, field course in which the students themselves drive around to meet me at select field sites.  Gee, nothing could EVER go wrong in that class requiring a law suit, heh, right? RIGHT?

Anyway, I survived all that and here I am with mo' teaching mo' problems.  I'm kind of like R2-D2, because he survived all the prequels.  They were harsh.  TOTALLY as harsh as high school.  I wish I could fist-bump my little bro, Artoo, right now and give him a look that says 'tight' (McLovin, anyone?)

So, back to my point; the last two weeks and Wil's inspiring words.  I've had a challenging couple weeks.  In the middle of it all, I have found some compelling power that has reinvigorated me, despite the chaos.  I've decided that I am going to think positively and send those vibes outward.  It is working, so far, because I am gaining perspective.  I am seeing the chaos for what it is, and trying to reverse it, one day at a time.  I want a tribe of awesome.  I will not lay down and give up!  If Artoo can make it to the 7th movie, so will I.  Thanks, Wil.

April Fool's First!

Better late than never, right?  I never have had the courage or the prowess to attempt a prank on April Fool's day in full blown fashion.  However, this year, I totally got a kid!  A kid went to get something from his locker, and the rest of the class and I scrambled to set ourselves up as if we were taking a quiz.  The kid returned, and I told him his quiz was waiting for him.  After a few tense moments during which I announced it was the last quiz of the quarter, he looked up to meet my eyes.  Pleadingly, he asked if this was graded.  I yelled April Fool's and he just about collapsed with relief.

Later in the day, another student in a different class got ME for the first time, too!  He left his phone behind, as if he forgot to pack it up.  I grabbed it for safe keeping on my desk, figuring he'd pick it up after school got out.  Last period rolled around, and he comes to get the phone.  It was missing!  I freaked out, with thoughts of how much money that phone was worth running through my head. As I sputtered out excuses and explanations, he just held his phone up to the rest of my students coming into the class, and laughed.  I finally caught on and called him a little stinker and shooed him out.

Fast forward to this week.  I tried to get him back and failed miserably.  Instead, I accidentally pranked his friend who sits in the next seat.  Ugh!  So guess who now has declared world war 3 on me.  What am I going to do?  I'm so nervous!

No, scratch that.  I'm going to win, and win BIG.  After all, the force is strong with me. Watch out kiddos.

This is Madness Bracket Champion: LUKE SKYWALKER!

Does anyone else smell a 'fixed' game here?  Let me explain my reasons for doubt.  I can't, for the love of Yoda, find poor old Lukey baby in the 2015 bracket.  Please, let me know if you can find him!  Now, after being totally missing in last year's bracket, he comes back to WIN the 2016 bracket?  Is that a coincidence?

Now let me add this extra onion/parfait layer; he's the big come-back-kid in TFA, so did the Star Wars marketing powers make this a fixed rig to highlight the whiny kid from Tatooine even MORE?  This reeks of suspicious activity more than the inside of a dead Tauntaun.

I've got my slanty, suspicious stink eye focused on the mouse, for sure.  One point for you, Disney.  One point for you, indeed.  Disney tricked me into voting or Luke, because Vader was obviously going to win and I felt bad.  I was duped.

Top Reasons the Brattle Theater is Amazeballs

I love the Brattle theater for the following reasons:

1. Weird Science
2. Back to the Future
3. Repo Man
4. Real Genius

These are the four films running the week of April 18th for the Cambridge Science Festival After Dark!  In reality, I have seen many, MANY other films at the Brattle, (hello crying during Aliens) so I love the theater for many more reasons, but since this is coming, I felt the need to keep my reasons current, relevant, and short.

I'm very excited to go see one or many of those films that week, as it happens to also fall on my April vacation break.  Who wants to go with me?  I'm leaning towards Weird Science and Real Genius.  However, I've never actually seen Repo Man so logically that should be my choice.  Additionally, how do I refuse Back to the Future?  Le sigh...how dooooo I choose?    

Make me your pokemon, and choose for me with your votes, below in the comments.
And for your pleasure, Val Kilmer:

Solo Baby Turns 5!

I'm so happy to have celebrated my little dog's fifth birthday!  I snuggled with him last Monday morning before work and he had no idea why he was getting so much attention.  He didn't seem to care or want the attention because he was still half-asleep.  I left him snoozing on the couch, and he had no idea what is in store for him that day.

I planned on getting some ground burger and making him a little special doggy dinner.  It was totally dorky but I don't care.  I also had high hopes of even bring him to petco for a new toy.  He is such a spoiled little pooch!  Alas, I didn't make it to Petco because I had to go to the post office to mail some documents instead.  Once I got done with that, I was pretty much ready to be in for the night.  I cooked up the ground beef, rice and veggies for the little man and he gobbled it up like a good little birthday boy.  As my friend says, 'sutchagooddog!'

In other news, I missed Anime Boston that weekend, which kind of bums me out.  I like to attend con's but when you don't have anyone to go with, it kinda dampens the fun.  I, therefore, didn't bother to go this time around.  I'll just wait until Boston Comiccon this summer.  And, of course, STAR WARS CELEBRATION in London!  That is really my go-to convention.  I've been going almost ten years, now.  It's more fun than winning a game of sabacc.
Now that I mention it, I should actually learn how to play sabacc.