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January 28, 2003
I've come down with YET
I've come down with YET another horrifying cold, you know, the kind where you basically drop to the ground coughing, your eyeballs are burning from the fever, and your stomach is roiling. Lovely, lovely, lovely. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow, thanks to good medical coverage.
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement after the attack. I'm fine, just jumpy.
Posted by G at 08:00 PM
January 22, 2003
I didn't sleep well last
I didn't sleep well last night, combination of stress and cold. This morning was a nice struggle out of the sheets. I wasn't in the mood to teach the grimies, but I had to get out of bed to call in sick, so I just kept going once I was out of the bed. Got to school late (I was free for the first period anyway), found out that we had a surprise inspection by the superintendant, and went through the motions for the day. My kids' only efforts involved being evil, I had a huge altercation with this one particularly nasty child in an 8th grade class, and I'm losing my voice again.
I'll be fine in a few days about the attack. I wasn't really injured, I'm just a bit sore. People have told me of attacks that were a lot worse, so I'm hoping my first/last attack will be the perfect education experience. I'm planning on not repeating the incident- walking down the busier street, actively watching my environment when I'm alone, and remembering how to whoop ass when needed. I pulled a Jesus Lizard on that guy, yelling and flailing. It worked, but I can't count on that next time. I'll basically try to make sure there isn't a next time.
Posted by G at 08:36 PM
January 21, 2003
Instead of watching Buffy this
Instead of watching Buffy this evening, I had the rare opportunity to patrol in the back of a police car, searching for the mugger who attacked me. I am thinking this leads me closer to being a real New Yorker. Scott told me I just need to throw up from an open subway door. I'm working on that.
This evening, I went to Life Cafe a few blocks away, intent on creating brilliant lesson plans to amaze and astound the kids. I worked for two hours, frantically working on a self-imposed deadline. Gotta get home to watch Buffy at 8! I finished with about 15 minutes to spare, threw my backpack over my shoulder, and headed out into the freezing weather.
I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, so I didn't focus on the guy walking the opposite direction. Let's just say that I noticed him when he easily grabbed me and shoved me up against the wall. He was at least three inches bigger than me, and he was holding me with one hand while reaching into his pocket. I started yelling and hit him once. He was pushed back, I kept yelling, and he ran off.
I'm a bit freaked out, but I also think I was really lucky. I'll definitely be paying more attention while I'm walking.
Posted by G at 10:02 PM
January 20, 2003
A quote from one of
A quote from one of those nambypamby books I had to read during the summer: "A good teacher has an undefineable quality, a 'with-it-ness' that enables them to know what is going on, even behind their back."
I can define it, just by what it isn't. I don't have this 'with-it-ness'. I'm one of those guys who walks into doors, forgets appointments, orders Chinese food without ever noticing that the restaurant is called Wong Foo. I am the antithesis. I have 'without-it-ness.'
My kids sneak out of the room when I'm writing at the board. Objects are thrown, shrieks are emitted, materials are destroyed or stolen. I know that some of them feign ignorance of basic concepts just to sidetrack me. That's easy, just show me something shiny. The majority of students failed my midterm, the majority are failing. I gave them all an opportunity to correct their tests, they took the opportunity to cheat. I see other teachers with the lovelies, some have a modicum of control, others don't. I'm a don't.
I have three weeks until a week's vacation. I will make it. I hope.
Posted by G at 03:21 PM
January 15, 2003
Vague writing is bad writing.
Vague writing is bad writing. BUSH wouldn't get any Swiftian satire.
Posted by G at 11:16 PM | Comments (1)
And thank you Jim for
And thank you Jim for pointing me to this wonderful ghost-written praise of the sanctity of life by our esteemed president.
I would send him something Swiftian, but he just wouldn't get it.
Posted by G at 09:41 PM
My college home town seldom
My college home town seldom makes it into the news. College quarterbacks who are selling drugs within a hundred yards of a school, major college sports corruptions, mockeries on the Simpsons, George Bush saying "I want to keep it simple so the boys in Lubbock will understand."
NOW THE BUBONIC PLAGUE. Thanks, Daniel.
Posted by G at 09:28 PM
Ahhh, yes. I am so
Ahhh, yes. I am so glad I have the bright shiny moments with my bright shiny friends. This last weekend was a good time for me, especially when I went to Hell. For the last few months, I thought that hell is located at my junior high, second floor, 12th room from the end. And it is, but it is only lowercase hell. It might even be a mere purgatory, a place to atone for some sins, maybe a mass genocide in a previous life.
Uppercase Hell is a good place, cozy, good couches, swell drinks. It's in the meatpacking district, which I thought, well, was euphemistically named. And, just as I expected, all of my friends were already there. And, just as many of my friends expected, they were playing 80's music in Hell. After being there for a short time, I came to the conclusion that I would prefer to stay in Hell. The lighting is better, the conversation is merrier, and Jimmy Swaggart isn't allowed to enter.
Afterwards, Andrew treated me to my first sober taxi ride in the city. Normally, if I'm above ground, I'm either walking or in a bus. Taking a taxi in a sober state is quite disturbing to me. The seats are slick and precarious, the 'new car smell' has been replaced by the funk of forty thousand years, and the roof of the car seemed extremely agressive, looming towards me, accusing me of being a newbie. Walking takes more time, but I feel that it gives you more of the scale of the city. The taxi diminishes everything's size, shrinking huge buildings to some surreal zoetrope. However, it was cheap, and maybe I'll do it more often.
Normally I don't go out if there is school the next day, but I never get to hang out with Barry and James. They convinced me to go see a show Sunday at Galapagos by this guy John Moran. I spent my last dollars to get there, and I stayed out much too late, but it was totally worth it. The music was so different from anything I've ever heard, plus the sense of humor was biting. A joke about pot was pulled at the very beginning, and I fell for it, dragging the fishhook in my mouth for a good ten minutes. Brilliant, plus I love my friends' enthusiasm for provoking thought. They keep reminding me why I am here in this town.
Last but not least, my roommate sent me to The Ukes of Hazzard's music video "Gay Boyfriend" site. My god. Good stuff, although not as amazing as the Wau Wau sisters.
Posted by G at 05:59 PM
January 13, 2003
Comments from my roommate tonight:
Comments from my roommate tonight:
"I need to order a pie."
"I can't believe the view of Deanna Troy's pudendum."
I'm gonna miss him.
Posted by G at 09:02 PM
January 11, 2003
Psycho whining boy, table for
Psycho whining boy, table for one? Right here! I'm really unhappy about work and life, but letting it get to me is a bit on the lame side. Sometimes things can be right under my nose and I won't even see them.
Take my neighborhood. So I've lived here now for a little over nine months, and I just discovered that my Chinese delivery place is called Wong Foo. I look at the menu every few weeks, but I never noticed that. I'm just waiting for Julie Newmar to deliver my broccoli and rice. I discovered that eighth wonder of the world, Western Beef. I also have the yoga place, I'm meeting the neighbors, and I'm going to try to focus on positive ways of dealing with my problems.
I hate my job, every morning is dreadful. However, quitting is not an option. Too much of the decision would be emotional and a result of depression, and it's common knowledge that the first year is the worst year of teaching. The combination of being at one of the worst schools in the nation AND teaching hormone addled teenagers could make anyone despair, so I'm going to make it to the summer, then review.
I'm off to go look at model trains and get a new calendar. I keep thinking it is still 2002.
Posted by G at 01:36 PM
January 06, 2003
I am really looking forward
I am really looking forward to having the new roommate move into the loft. For the last month or so, I've been really lonely. I'm a social animal and I need interaction. People who have seen my hairy arms know that I have not-so-latent social monkey genes. I have lived with other people my whole life, and even though I often need my own space, interaction is still vital. Frequently I am sitting here, and I have to go to Life Cafe just for some conversation. Dan and I had, in my opinion, one of those excellent casual communication systems. Most of the time, it was more presence than actual conversation. Now Dan basically lives over at Stephen's place, and I have to admit that I was really disappointed when he canceled on staying here tonight. For the past few months, our old system has been replaced by his making a beeline for his nest, going to sleep, and then heading back over to Stephen's. The fact that I learned of his moving out through friends and his blog shows the extent of how we communicate now.
I know I'm a bear to be with right now. I feel sorry for my friends and Dan, because I know that my socializing has such a frantic quality to it. My day to day life is quite miserable, and so I pin too much on my time with friends and Dan. That is a lot of pressure for people that already have full plates. Often I just go to my side of the loft, read a book, listen to some music. However, the huge empty loft makes me avoid my normal quiet time for recharging, my normal schedule has been thrown out the window, and I'm as cranky as a constipated 90 year old in the rest home.
I guess the new year is bringing some good things. This will be my stepping out on my own, even if it is with a little kicking and screaming. I'm meeting my neighbors, making new patterns, starting yoga. I'll start a batch of cider. I'll bring over some friends to help redecorate, maybe build some new walls, make the space my own. In six months, I'll look back and wonder why I was so miserable tonight. Plus I'll be out of school.
Posted by G at 11:08 PM
Okay, so the attempt at
Okay, so the attempt at a tropical Christmas was a total bust. However, I have a midwinter recess from February 14th through February 23rd. I want to go somewhere and validate my New Year's resolution of sunburning my nether regions on a beach. Anyone want to join?
Posted by G at 08:52 PM
January 05, 2003
Some legends say Xanadu is
Some legends say Xanadu is concealed in a mountain pass in Tibet. Others say that it floats from cloud to cloud. Some people born in the 70's believe that Olivia Newton John guards the mystical gates with her dangerous floaty hair. I personally believe one can enter through the infrared sensor doors at Western Beef, the grocery store I just was taken to by my new food guru Sonia. I could have sworn I heard a chorus of angels as the doors swung inwards onto an awesome panorama of fresh breads, unknown fruits, and wide aisles containing a vast array of tasty goods.
Ever since I moved here to NYC, I've been wildly disappointed by the grocery stores. Locally, I have the C-town, which is a horrifying descent into gnat-covered banana hell. Everything is overpriced, the dairy products are usually one day away from becoming a new form of cottage cheese, and one entire aisle of this miniscule store is devoted to Catholic candles. What ices the cake is the walk through the projects to get home, avoiding rotting garbage, dog crap, and the painful tingling from rapidly numbing hands. I can take the subway the Bedford stop or Union Square. Both have grocery stores with superior selection, healthier items, and better fruit. However, they're still frightfully expensive and the amusing risk of cans rolling around the subway car.
I met Sonia through yoga wild hair Jen, another sign of my good karma, as Sonia is becoming one of my favorite people to hang out with. She leads me to this amazing new place a short distance by car or bike from my place. I had an absolute blast, I was so excited. It is like a World's Fair of food. There's all sorts of great fruits with strange names, aisles of Indian food, Jamaican, vegetarian, you name it. They also have this great kicky tejano music playing, which results in Sonia and I dancing randomly down the aisles. I bought caviar, a big bag of good dog food, and about $120 worth of other stuff. We were in there for over TWO HOURS, and I loved every minute of it. We loaded it into Sonia's ageing Toyota and exited Kublai Khan's fabled land. With her as my sherpa guide, I know I'll return.
Posted by G at 11:06 PM
January 02, 2003
Well, I think the roommate
Well, I think the roommate issue is somewhat resolved. One of my Jen's (not blogger Jen, not New Mexico Jen, not Peace Corps Jen, not Jen from my school, not Jen from my university program, or my first kiss ever Jen, but yoga wild hair Jen) connected me with their friend Andrew (not Andy or Andrew or Andy from Texas or Andrew from Peace Corps).
He's a good guy. Photographer, yoga and bicycle fan, taller than Abraham Lincoln. Seems steady and fun. Being a photographer, he will replace Daniel as my fashion arbiter. Being a yoga fan, we will check out the new yoga place down the street. Being tall, straight, and nice, my single straight female friends will rip out each other's intestines when they meet him.
Posted by G at 08:43 PM
It was a very chaste
It was a very chaste kiss. No tongue.
Posted by G at 08:13 PM
January 01, 2003
The dawn of another new
The dawn of another new year. I went to the local neighborhood party at one of the local lofts, it was rather fun. I had other ideas, but plans failed, cell phones didn't work, and I just haven't had the energy to organize anything myself. Lori has a pool table, a kegerator, and a penchant for cats. While I was there, I tried some special cookies, again no effect. I'm immune. At midnight, kissed Sonya, one of the local girls.
It's two in the afternoon, I still haven't showered or shaved, and I still have to do all sorts of lesson plans and junk. I'm watching Linklater's Waking Life, responding to emails, procrastinating. I want to just go back to sleep, I need to go over to Life Cafe to get some work done.
So I forgot to describe my semi-Christmas. I went down to DC, spent the 23rd and 24th on the eastern side of Maryland in a great farmhouse in the country. I love adding depth to a person you know by seeing their childhood environment. Jim S grew up near Oxford, MD, this beautiful idyllic town. I learned all sorts of great things. Lightning has struck the inside of his old house, cooking everything inside the refrigerator. His youngest brother who looks to be the oldest hunts animals.
I am so jazzed about beaver. We're having breakfast Christmas Eve, Jim's sister and bro-in-law are keeping me caffeinated, and Jim's youngest brother brings over all these goose decoys. He then mentions that they are having problems with beaver down on the local pond. Everyone knows how much I love beaver! I've never seen beaver in the wild, so I went stalking it while Jim took a shower. I saw a lot of evidence, but the shrewd and wily beaver stayed hidden. We drove back to DC that evening, watched the Poseidon Adventure, and the next morning I took the bus back to NYC. Christmas Day was pretty much a non-event, but I went drinking with friends later. It was good. I just really wish I had seen that beaver.
Posted by G at 02:45 PM