August 28, 2004
    Oops, no update for a while.  Sorry.  This was the first full week of school and it seems to have gone fairly well.  Not perfect, mind you, but pretty good.  If nothing else, this is a huge increase from last year.  I know that by saying this, I move into the realm of unimaginable hubris, but I feel like I'm not really that bad of a teacher this year.  I think I even have potential to be a good one (gasp!)  As I say, that's a good feeling.
    Four of my periods really seem to be buzzing along with no problem whatsoever.  One, my seventh period sixth graders, is playing a bit much, and another, fourth period eighth graders, seems to be made up only of students they couldn't foist on anyone else (half of them are only in my class after getting kicked out of art in the first week of school.)  I had most of these students last year, and to my mind, only one of the eight doesn't have emotional issues well beyond my ever-so-modest expertise.  Luckily, all of these kids are in one class, so as awful as they may be on any given day, at least I'm not taking attention from someone who actually wants to learn.  Most of them are pretty smart, so hopefully we should be able to do something.
    As I'm keen to point out, this is perhaps the first time in my life I've got the opportunity to just start over on a major project.  So few of my "major accomplishments" have ever turned out as I wanted; I'm really hoping to take full advantage of this chance.
    Today was Professional Saturday (a TFA professional development orgy) which was nice.  The first years continue to be pretty cool.  Second years too.
    Oh, and I almost forgot.  Sally sent me a snailmail care package that included a copy of Roll Call.  I love Roll Call.  Sally rules.

August 22, 2004
    After so much fun yesterday, today was a day of Jane Austen and cleaning my room.  Also, lesson planning.  And pizza.  That's about all.  I think that boring days in the delta sound even more boring in blog form than in real life. Sorry.
    Sadly, Bob Dole, my favorite Republican, fell many stories in my opinion of him when he decided to attach John Kerry's war record for the Bush campaign.  The problem with this debate is that the republicans don't need to win the argument (which they can't do since so many people have vouched again and again for Kerry's war record) they just need to muddy the water so much that people get confused about exactly who spent the Vietnam war kind-of-but-not-really pulling a stint in the national guard because his daddy was a congressman.  This isn't an agree-to-disagree issue: John Kerry put his life on the line for his country and Bush used his connections so that he wouldn't have to.  That's clear to anyone who pays attention to the facts in any way.  Thanks to "Republicans for Evil" and Fox "News" that group is getting smaller everyday.
    My question: why does the mainstream media dignify this crap?  I know that Liberals aren't supposed to say such things, but sometimes one side is right and the other side is wrong.  Screw both-sides-of-the-story.  I'd rather have the Truth.

August 21, 2004
    So I said that I'd write a real entry yesterday, but as we can see, it was a pack of lies.  Well, only one lie really.  But a good one.
    So now two days of school have passed.  They were both pretty damn good.  Half way through the first day I found myself thinking, "man, this job is really easy."  I think that this means that this year I actually need to become good at teaching and not merely adequate.  We'll see.
    As I mentioned, I have a new classroom and some very small classes.  My largest is 14, and my smallest is three.  In which class did I have to give out a detention and an informal suspension (that's to two different kids) on the second day of the year?  Yeah, that would be my class of three.  We're gonna have to work on that one.  I think the high point of my day was refusing to let them into my room until they demonstrated that they could walk up and down the hall in a single-file line and answer all my questions with "yes, sir" and "no, sir."  Drunk with power you say?  That sounds about right.
    Most of my free time has been spent dealing with my gross, puss ridden poison ivy infection and making new friends.  Yes, the reason I didn't update last night was because we had a party.  At our house, with cans of beer and crappy music and everything.  True, I needed to hide out in the bathroom a few times, but in the end I spoke to several people and drank a beer and a shot of JD, largely against my will.
    Today was largely wasted, but I did go to Memphis tonight for dinner, coffee, and Garden State with Hannah, Kelly, and Ben; good people all.
    In Olympics news, I haven't been watching much at all and feel generally left out of the summer 2004 zeitgeist.  I've basically only watched swimming and gymnastics: the pretty boy sports.

August 19, 2004
    I swear that I'll write a real entry tomorrow.  No kidding.
    The first day of school went well.  Good room, small classes.  If it goes this well for the rest of the year I'll be sorry to leave.
    Mexican to celebrate.  I love El Canav, but I miss Chipotle.

August 18, 2004
    School starts tomorrow.  Bring it on.  [a la Howard Dean] Arrgghhhh!!!!

August 17, 2004
    Woah.  Two day hiatus on the blog!  What did you do without me?  Oh, yes, went about you lives as always.  Now I remember.
    Since last we spoke I've gotten poison ivy.  I've also listened to two more days of nonsensical ramblings from my principal, cleaned two boatloads of crap out of my new classroom, and tried not to laugh/cry during a five minute conversation at a faculty meeting on whether or not it's possible for the kids to start getting on buses by route number instead of bus number (conclusion: not possible.)  Also watched Queer Eye.  I hate how much i enjoy that show.  As much as I love all those things, however, only the poison ivy causes me to scratch repeatedly in front of strangers and develop a new understanding of the word "pustule."  At least I've gotten ready for the kids to show up on Thursday.  [pause] Hahaha.
    Friendster continues to be a dangerous addiction.

August 14, 2004
    Wow.  Slow day.  I did laundry, pruned the bushes, and listened to the last few CDs of Founding Brothers.  
    The more I learn about America, the more I respect it.  Not necessarily like it, mind you, respect it.  It really is amazing to understand how tenuous the union was at those early stages, and in how many ways that union was based only on ignoring the disagreement over slavery for another eighty years.  True, the genius of the founders was in choosing to leave that issue to be dealt with by a more established generation of Americans, but then too, a country that passes on the question of chattel slavery isn't really a country one could be (or can be) entirely proud to be a part of.

August 13, 2004
    Not too much to say about today.  More in-service which isn't too exciting.  Went down to Helena for a party with TFA folks.  It was nice.  I hereby resolve to do a better job at commuting around the delta.  There are some great people here that I really want to get to know better.
    Jogging for the past two days has been kind of pathetic.  I somehow mucked up my right knee.  It's not so much that it hurts when I run (although it does) as that it sends the very clear message "running on me is a very bad idea."  I reluctantly agree.  After a whole summer of not running (at least not much) it's amazing how quickly I get into the routine and miss it when I can't get out.  On the plus side you can all enjoy the image of me running/hobbling around the delta in my "Run Against Bush" t-shirt, thinking big thoughts and generally weirding out the locals.

August 12, 2004
    Well, in-service training started today and I already want to die.  Not because I'm afraid of school starting (I'm actually not) but rather because my principal seems to be channeling George W. Bush whenever he addresses a large group (or for that matter, a small one.)  Really, he's got it all, the vapid prose, the "so then he said to me" stories, the out of place smirk, and the inability to deliver any meaningful results.
    (I should note that although I'm trying to be more positive, Mr. Rose stories will remain exempt: it's a genre I just don't think I could live without.)
    In the "Good News Never Stops" category, it looks like not only will I not have any students for the first week of classes, but all my sections will be half he size they were last year.  This is fine with me.  Thinking about the year, I realize that having a class that size would be (dare I say it?) comfortable.  OK, that may not sound like a lot to those of you with normal jobs, but for me, that's huge.
    Anyway, meetings = boring.  But then I went to Cleo's with Kate, Jenna, and Lauren (new TFA girls) which was typical Marianna fabulousness.  We arrived at 6:30 and were told to order fast as the grill was closing.  By 7:15 we were the last ones there and the management had started vacuuming.  Ah, Arkansas!
    Party in Helena tomorrow means that I get to see Hannah, Kelly, and the Hell-town rock stars.  Good times.

August 11, 2004
    So, I'm back in Arkansas.   The summer in DC was pretty damn amazing.  Great city, great job, great friends, etc.  In short I'm feeling good about being back in Marianna, but definitely looking forward to getting back to DC for the long(er) term.  I have to say that I was shocked at how many people mentioned visiting this web page.  It made me feel really loved.  Then I started thinking about how maybe I should get friends who have better things to do than read my barely mediocre ramblings.  Then I went back to feeling loved.  Then I was hungry.  Then I felt loved again, which is where I stopped.  So by popular(!) demand, the page is back; visit as you see fit.
    We start in-service training tomorrow.  For those of you not in the biz, that means that all the teachers will assemble to listen to speeches while drawing the back of the head of the person sitting in front of them.  It's a good time.  I got a new classroom which makes me happy.  True, the room is filled with such a multitude of crap that I fear I will never be able to fit my students inside, let alone their desks, but at least it's not a computer lab.  Glory be!
    Marianna seems not to have changed very much, but we did get a whole boatload of new TFA teachers in town which is so profoundly sweet that even now I find myself dancing in my desk chair.  These new teachers all seem pretty cool.  Seem.  I have faith that the crazies will out themselves and then we'll have some fun.  
    Although I'm happy to have this site back up and running, I'm afraid that I must close on some sad news.  Milton the mouse did not survive the summer and has gone to the big hamster wheel in the sky.  Blake and I are mourning, but I do feel that it has truly brought us together.  We're going to have a memorial service in the backyard this weekend.  I will read "Lycidas" as the sun sets gently over the oak trees.  Blake will eat some dried banana chips.  

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